Chapter One: Long, Long Way From Home
Four Years Later
The best laid plans don't always work. Sometimes they do.
Carla really needed this one to work.
"What am I going to do, Carly? I can't leave and become a trainer – you heard what he said!"
Glennis couldn't become a trainer. But Carla could.
She'd spotted him from her bedroom window and recognised him immediately. From the looks of things, he was heading for the Centre to either heal his team or book a room. She grabbed her purse, raced down the stairs and out of the door, banging it shut behind her and cutting off her sister's demand to know where she was going.
The house wasn't far from the Centre, but Carla was still panting as she staggered past the automatic doors.
There were a lot of trainers in the lobby, so there was no chance of anyone recognising her. Luckily for Carla, the one she was after was just handing over his team to the nurse. Carla waited until he went to sit down before going to speak to him.
"Hey, Bobby?"
He looked up and saw her; immediately, his face lit up in a delighted smile. There was a tiny scar on his lip that hadn't been there before. "Hi, Carla! How's it going?"
"I'm fine. You know how you said you owed me a favour?"
"Yeah, I remember. What do you want me to do?"
"I need to get to Mauville this afternoon and Littleroot early tomorrow morning - can you get your Kadabra to teleport me there?" She fervently hoped he still had his Kadabra.
"Sure! When do you want to meet up tomorrow?"
"Would eight be OK?"
"That's not a problem. Do you want to meet up outside the Centre?"
"Brilliant."
It seemed to take ages before Bobby's team was healed. Carla kept her eyes on the door, anxious someone she knew would walk in. It wasn't as if she'd never been in the Centre before - she and Glennis would sometimes take Nadine, Kelvin and Tyson there for a little check-up - but this was different.
"Hey." Bobby was back. "Ready to go?"
Carla nodded. Bobby called out his Kadabra and said: "Syke, can you get us to Mauville City?"
Syke nodded and put his spoons together, forming an X-shape. His eyes glowed blue.
Bobby gripped Carla's shoulders. "Brace yourself. And you might want to close your..."
An invisible fist punched Carla's lungs, emptying them in one swift move. The world around them disappeared in a swirl of light and pinpricks of colour, and materialised again. She staggered, clutching at Bobby's jacket, gasping for air.
"I know, right?" he said, grinning. "Takes some getting used to."
Carla still felt a little dizzy, so she waited for her head to clear before looking around to see where they were. They stood in a small patch of astroturf, just to the left of the Mauville Pokémon Centre. Overhead, the New Mauville lights beamed down harshly.
"It's OK," Bobby said. "This is the special teleportation area. Where do you want to go?"
"Where do I get a secondhand phone? And travelling clothes?"
Mauville City was the best place in Hoenn to buy trainer supplies. Carla was on a very limited budget, so she couldn't risk buying anything new. Besides, the only things she truly needed were a semi-new phone, basic pokémon food and medicine, and possibly something to keep her warm on the road. She already had everything else she needed, and she wouldn't take anything from the house that wasn't already hers.
Bobby directed Carla to a small selection of shops not far away from the Centre. Much to her annoyance, most of them sold new things, but she was able to find a shop that took castoffs and donations. She noticed the proceedings from the shop would go to 'rewilding' areas damaged by natural disasters.
Carla didn't spend too long there. She quickly found a dark grey hoodie and the least-battered secondhand phone in the shop.
"Make sure you connect that to TrainNet quickly," the shop assistant said as she handed Carla the items.
Carla had heard of TrainNet. It was the best phone network in Hoenn and it was exclusively for the use of trainers. "I will. Thank you."
"I'm guessing you want to go back to the Centre now?" Bobby asked as Carla stepped out of the shop, hoodie tied around her waist and phone tucked away safely in her pocket.
"I need to visit the one here first. How long does it take to get a licence?" she asked as they walked.
"Not long, but this is Mauville City we're talking about here."
"So?"
She got her answer as soon as the Centre door slid open. The lobby was packed with trainers, most of them with at least one pokémon out. A Skitty ran in front of Carla, its trainer in pursuit. As Carla watched, the trainer scooped up the tiny creature and carried it back to a seating area - only to find her seat had been taken by someone else.
"See what I mean?" Bobby said. "Want me to wait by the door?"
"That's great. Thanks."
Luckily for Carla, the queue at the desk was only comprised of three people. Even so, Carla couldn't help glancing over her shoulder to where Bobby sat, looking aimlessly around.
"Are you here to get your team healed?" the nurse asked when it was her turn.
"No, thanks. I'm here to get my trainer's licence."
The nurse craned her neck to speak to her colleague. "Estelle, could you deal with this, please?"
Estelle was a tall, thin woman with dark hair and a pale face, and who looked as though she hadn't slept properly in weeks. She smiled at Carla and got up from her chair. "Hello. Please could you follow me?"
Within moments, Carla found herself sitting in front of a machine and keeping her face expressionless as it took her picture. There was no flash; she didn't even blink once.
"OK, can I have your first name, please?" asked Estelle.
"Carla."
"Is that spelled with a C or a K?"
"C."
"And what's your surname?" the woman asked without taking her eyes off the screen.
"Saverre. That's S-A-V-E-R-R-E."
"Hmm." From where she was sitting, Carla could see Estelle raise her eyebrows. "That's an interesting surname. Is your family Kalosian?"
"My grandfather was from Lumiose City."
Estelle typed something on her computer. "Have you gotten your starter yet?"
"No." That was why she was going to Littleroot tomorrow.
"While we're waiting for your licence to print out, let me just give you this." Estelle went over to Carla and handed her a white pamphlet. "Read this thoroughly before you leave home and...if I may make a suggestion?"
Carla nodded.
"Get a haircut as well. It's really not safe to have hair as long as yours out in the wild. It could get tangled, caught in things, or worse."
She looked pointedly at the ends of Carla's dark blonde hair, which hung dangerously close to her hips. Everything had happened so quickly; Carla hadn't even had a chance to think about things like a haircut.
"I will." She would - eventually.
There was a whirring sound and a thin sliver of plastic emerged from the machine. "Here you go," Estelle said, holding out the licence. "Good luck on your journey!"
"Thank you."
She was going to need it.
Carla let herself into the quiet house and was immediately confronted by the sight of her sister sitting on the bottom step, hands around her knees.
Glennis sprang to her feet. "Where did you go?"
"To get my licence."
"Did you go to the Centre here? What were you thinking? Dad's going to be back soon; what if anyone had seen you and told him what you were..."
"I'm not stupid, Glen!" Carla snapped.
Glennis flinched. Carla sighed and closed her eyes. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have..."
"No, it's OK. So where did you go?"
"Remember that trainer who ran out of money to get medicine for his Kadabra? I got him to take me to Mauville. We're gonna meet up again tomorrow, so I can get my starter." Carla moved past her sister. "I need to hide these before Dad gets here. Then I'm going out."
"You just came back."
"I'm going out again. There's somewhere I need to be."
Once she was in her bedroom, Carla stuffed her new purchases under the bed, right next to her sleeping-bag and rucksack. She'd already retrieved her tent; her father wouldn't notice it was missing until he realised she was.
There was no time to think about that. Not now. Carla swallowed the guilt that was threatening to choke her and got to her feet. She went down the stairs and left the house without saying anything to her sister.
It was late afternoon. The sun was beginning to send dark gold beams over the ocean. Carla gave the scene a brief glance before going on her way. She had nearly reached the post office when she suddenly stopped walking and turned to look at a grey stone building to her right. Light from the dying sun was touching the coloured glass windows and causing the building to cast a long yet comforting shadow.
Carla pushed the wooden door open and walked inside.
It was silent, just as she had hoped. There were no lights on overhead, but sunbeams still entered through the windows. Normally, Carla would have made her way towards one of the smaller chapels, but today she stepped quietly down the main aisle and sat down in a random pew.
Although there was nobody else in the church, Carla couldn't bring herself to pray aloud. She looked up at the largest window, where an image of Arceus was captured in white and gold glass. His eyes stared down directly at Carla.
Carla knew what she wanted to say. She just didn't know how to say it. She didn't even know what she should pray for first: protection, guidance or forgiveness.
Everyone had their reasons for becoming a trainer. She was no different. It was just that her motives were more…mercenary. A strong trainer could make a lot of money by winning battles. That was primarily how Gym Leaders were able to maintain their properties. If Carla trained hard and gained a powerful team, she would be able to send her sister the right amount of money in a matter of months.
And then what will you do?
Carla brushed the thought aside. Her eyes flickered towards two of the chapels, the ones dedicated to Groudon and Kyogre. There were more prayer candles lit in those chapels than ever before.
She heard the church doors open and close behind her, but she didn't turn around.
"Hello, Carla."
The girl looked behind her and gave a tiny smile. "Hi, Cleric Daniel."
"Is everything all right? Or do you need a moment?"
"Just get me the money. I don't care how long it takes."
Carla hesitated. She wanted to confide in Daniel, to tell him everything that had happened over the past two days and everything she was afraid was going to happen. But she knew she couldn't do that. She couldn't even talk to Arceus - how could she confide in one of His clerics?
"I think I'm fine," she said after a moment. Daniel smiled and started to move away, but Carla knew she hadn't fooled him.
Suddenly, Daniel stopped and looked back. "Sometimes you don't need to say anything," he said. "Just know there's always someone listening." With that, he was walking away again.
Carla stayed where she was, watching the sunlight shift across the floor. Eventually, she stood up and went over to the smaller of the two chapels on the right. She lit a single candle, just as she had done every week for seven years. Instinctively, she reached up to touch the blue triangle pendant she always wore around her neck.
"Look after them," she whispered.
"Hi, Carla."
Carla shut the front door behind her. "Hey, Dad," she called.
"Could you come in here for a moment?"
The hallway was slowly growing dark, but the light was on in the kitchen. Carla spotted Nadine's tail swishing on the floor; the Mightyena raised her head when Carla walked into the room. Carla smiled down at her but didn't try to pet her.
Theo Saverre was sitting at the table, a large mug of coffee resting in his hands. Carla could see silver threads weaving their way slowly through his dark blond hair.
"How was work?" she asked.
"Busy. I didn't get half the things done that I wanted to." He took a large gulp of coffee. "Glennis seems upset about something."
Carla wasn't sure what to say. She broke up with her boyfriend was out of the question, not least because their dad had told Glennis to break up with Will six months ago.
She decided on: "I don't think she wants to talk about it." It was a nice way of implying that trying to speak to Glennis about what was troubling her was the same as poking an enraged Beartic.
Theo winced. "Boy trouble?"
"Kind of."
"Come sit down. I've got something you might be interested in."
Carla sat down just as Theo pushed something across the table. Carla looked down and nearly clapped a hand over her mouth.
It was a prospectus for a beginner's course in coordinating.
"Well, what do you think?" Theo was beaming. "There's an application form in the back; if you like what you see, why not fill it out?"
"I...I don't even have a pokémon yet, Dad."
"You don't need one to go on the course. But your birthday is coming up soon; you need to let me know now if you've got any requests. Have you changed your mind about wanting an Ice-type?"
She did still want an Ice-type. And she still wanted to be a coordinator. She wanted it with everything she had, but if it was a choice between her ambitions and her family's safety…
"You don't tell anyone about this. Tell your dad or the police and I'll kill all three of you. Try and run away and I'll kill all three of you. And if you can't get the money…you know what'll happen. Got it?"
No. There was no choice.
"No, Dad, I haven't."
"Well, let me know if you've got anything specific in mind and I'll see what I can do." He put something else on the table. "We had a visitor at work today - he was giving out a new version of the heal ball. It's programmed to heal the pokémon every time it's returned, not just after capture. Hope you can make better use of it than I would."
Carla took the tiny capsule in her free hand. "Thank you, Dad."
He could stop her from getting a licence or a pokémon, but there was nothing he could do once she was out there in the wild. Police wouldn't get involved unless the trainer had done something illegal and they had no time to go after runaway trainers - not least because there were so many. Carla wasn't the first person to become a trainer without parental consent and she wouldn't be the last.
Someone running away from home and not becoming a trainer was an entirely different matter.
Her father wouldn't be able to legally confiscate her licence or pokémon, either. Parents had been arrested for that, as taking away a trainer's licence and any pokémon belonging to him or her counted as theft. Of course, the trainers had to prove their parents had stolen their licence or pokémon and that wouldn't be so easy.
"Now, I'm going to start getting supper ready," Theo said. "Why don't you go and read that prospectus and give it some thought?"
"I will. Thanks, Dad."
Carla went up the stairs. Glennis' door was open; one look at her sister's face and Carla knew she'd heard the conversation that had just taken place.
"I talked to Sandra," she said. "She told me it's OK to send her the packages, and then she'll give them to you when you go into work. Oh, and start acting natural. Dad's starting to get suspicious."
Glennis' dark eyes were shimmering with tears. "I'm sorry, Carly."
Carla shook her head. "It's not your fault."
"It kind of is."
"No, it isn't." Carla slipped into her bedroom and closed it behind her before she could say anything else, or before she could start crying herself.
She put the prospectus and Heal Ball on her bed and pulled the pamphlet Estelle had given her out from under her bed.
Trainer Guidelines by The Pokémon and Trainer Protection League
Carla's eyes roamed over the words, ignoring the bit about getting her number registered to TrainNet and making sure her vaccinations were up to date. It was the next few paragraphs she wanted to read.
If your gut tells you there is trouble ahead, there probably is. Get somewhere safe or call the following number for help...
Should you find yourself injured or poisoned, call the following helpline immediately...
WARNING: Hoenn has seen an increase in gang activity in recent years. Anyone discovered as belonging to a gang will be banned from training for one year. Anyone discovered belonging to Team Scythe will be blacklisted permanently.
Should you have an encounter with a trainer gang, please call the following number...
Should you have an encounter with Team Scythe, please call...
"This your little sister?"
Carla felt her fists clench.
Most of the gangs the pamphlet mentioned were nothing to worry about. They were made of people who thought they could use the fear Teams Magma and Aqua had caused with The Awakening to show they too were fearsome and not to be trifled with.
Archie and Maxie quickly taught them that they were not fearsome.
Team Scythe was different. Maybe Archie and Maxie's actions made them bolder, or maybe they were better organised and more formidable than the other 'teams' running around Hoenn. But when several trainers reported their pokémon had been stolen, it didn't take Hoenn officials long to realise all the thefts had been carried out by the same group of people - or by several groups of people working for one person. Carla couldn't remember who'd come up with the nickname 'Team Scythe'. It was probably Gabby Galloway. Apparently, the Scythe leader liked the name so much, he or she decided to make it official.
Carla looked down at her new phone and slowly punched in a number. Her finger was visibly shaking, and she hoped against hope her father wouldn't hear her speaking.
She had her licence, her camping gear, her notebook, a good strong bag, clothes and just enough money for supplies. There was only one thing missing.
Wait. She was forgetting something else. She got up, walked over to her chest of drawers and took out a small black scarf. Hurrying back to the bed, she sat down and pressed the 'call' button on her phone, the scarf lying across her knees.
They had to be open. It wasn't too late. They had to be open.
"Thank you for calling Birch Laboratories. Please select from the following options: If you are interested in obtaining a starter pokémon, say..."
"One."
"You OK?" Bobby asked. He sounded genuinely concerned.
"I'm fine," Carla replied. He wasn't talking about how she felt after teleporting and they both knew it.
She wasn't going to think about saying goodbye to Glennis - or the letter she'd told her sister to give to their father. It had taken her eleven tries to get the letter right, and even then the words looked flimsy and pathetic.
Mist hung over the trees surrounding Littleroot. Carla could feel its cool heaviness inside her lungs. The town's inhabitants were just beginning to emerge from their houses and go about their day. It was easy to identify the building she was after - it was the largest one in town.
"Good luck." Bobby patted Carla on the shoulder once, then he and Syke were gone. Carla steeled herself and walked towards the lab.
The door slid open in welcome, revealing a tall, tanned figure with spiky brown hair. "Hi! You're here for a starter, aren't you?"
Carla couldn't speak. Out of all the people working in Birch Laboratories, she hadn't been expecting him to greet her.
"You are the new trainer we're expecting?"
"Y-yes. I am. I'm Carla."
Brendan Birch smiled. "Great! Come on in. Do you want to see the lab starters, or the ones we've got in the playroom?"
"The playroom, please," Carla said decisively.
It wasn't unusual for trainers to let Professors study their team members in the labs. Sometimes, the trainer would return to find an egg waiting for them. If they didn't take it, the egg would stay with the Professor and hatch in the lab. New trainers who didn't want a regional starter would be offered the chance to choose a starter from the 'hatchlings' in the playroom. A bonus was that the hatchlings inherited interesting moves from at least one of their parents.
Brendan led her down a long white corridor. He wasn't the only person in the laboratory; assistants in white lab coats walked past them, most of them carrying datapads. Carla saw two of them trying to suppress yawns.
"Here we are."
The playroom was full of small creatures, all of them running around and chasing each other. Carla was surprised to spot a Cyndaquil amongst them. It would be a strong pokémon to have as a starter, and it would be formidable as a Typhlosion...but for some reason she wasn't sure it was the right one for her. She fingered her pendant, hoping she would make the right choice.
Then she noticed one of the little pokémon had stopped to catch its breath. Wisps of cold air came out of its mouth as it panted, each one with tiny glittering specks inside. After a moment, it saw Carla watching and toddled towards her on stubby black legs.
Feeling suddenly shy, Carla knelt on the floor, ignoring the cold as it seeped into her jeans. "Hi," she whispered, hoping she wasn't imagining the tiny voice inside her saying this is the one. "I'm Carla. Do you want to come with me?"
It nodded eagerly twice, bending its entire body forward in the process.
Carla sighed with relief.
"You want the Snorunt?"
She'd almost forgotten Brendan was there. "Yes," she replied decisively.
Soon, she was standing in the lobby with Brendan showing her how to use her brand new pokédex. Trainers who received a starter from the lab always left with a dex and six capsules, regardless of whether the starter came from the playroom or was one of the three regionals.
"If you return the Snorunt - yeah, like that - and then scan its pokéball with your dex, it'll give you all the information on it and on anything you capture." Brendan turned the dex over and showed Carla a small black bar on the base. "That's what you use to scan it."
Carla ran the Snorunt's capsule under the bar.
Species: Snorunt
Gender: Female
Move Set: Powder Snow, Leer, Double Team, Weather Ball
She knew Weather Ball? That was going to be interesting if they ever ran across any Fire-types on a wet or cloudy day.
"No offence, but I've got another trainer coming in about half an hour," Brendan apologised. "See you around - and good luck!" With one final grin, he walked down the corridor again.
Carla called out the Snorunt again. "You need a name," she said. It needed to be short and simple, and quick to call out in battle. The trouble was, naming a pokémon was much more difficult when said pokémon was standing right in front of you.
"What do you think of..." Carla paused, trying to think of something and eventually settling upon a name she'd always liked. "…Zoe?"
The Snorunt seemed to think for a moment. Then she nodded again.
Carla was surprised. She hadn't expected her to take to the first name she said. "All right. Zoe it is!"
Zoe's mouth widened in a grin.
"Before we leave, there's something I need to tell you."
That was when Carla's plan took an unexpected turn.
"I'm sorry, but that's not going to be possible."
Carla turned away from Zoe to see an assistant talking to a man in a black suit. The stranger almost seemed to tower over the assistant, who was shaking her head in protest.
"My daughter is unable to handle it." The suited man held out a pokéball to the assistant. "It won't keep still, it makes a terrible noise every time it sees her...it's simply unsuitable to be a pet."
"Then I suggest next time you take her to someone who breeds pokémon exclusively as pets," the assistant retorted. "And you can't just return a pokémon to the lab like some kind of baggage you don't want!"
Judging from the way the man's thick eyebrows drew together, he obviously thought he could. "Well, we can't keep the little nuisance."
Carla had heard enough. No pokémon deserved to be treated like that. Before she realised what she was doing, she was marching over to the man and saying in a loud voice: "I'll take it."
Thanks for reading so far! Please leave a review.
Carla's personality in 'The Spectre' is vastly different from the one she has in 'Dreams of Fire'. It was a lot of fun reimagining her with Slytherin traits and characteristics.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter! See you next time.
This chapter's title comes from 'Canary' by Joy Williams.