Summer: The Incident that Started it All
On a clear sunny day, a family of four walked through the crowded streets of Goldenrod City. The parents were proud of their two young daughters. They were only four years apart, but were inseparable and always played together.
"Now Summer, Lily," the mother politely lectured her five year old and one year old. "Stay close to me while we're in the department store, okay? We don't want you two to get lost while we wait for Grandma Lan."
"Okay, Mommy," the older girl, Summer, replied. Her younger sister nodded as her orange lily necklace lightly shifted around her neck.
They arrived at the Goldenrod City Department Store, the largest of its kind in the Johto Region. The family went through its double doors and proceeded to the elevator. As they headed towards the highest floor, the father exited on the fifth floor to buy some souvenirs. He waved goodbye to his family, and they excitedly waved back. When the mother and her daughters reached the outdoor café on the next floor, they exited the elevator and had a few light snacks. Summer made sure Lily was safe by following her whenever her younger sister ran around. Their mother then happily watched her children play in the small play area. Unbeknownst to her, a Pokémon was watching them as well.
After an hour of playtime, the mother called, "Summer! Lily! Time to go!"
Summer took her sister's hand, and they skipped to their mother. Suddenly, something black and shiny caught Summer's eye.
"Mommy! Mommy! Can we look at those sunglasses? Please?"
The woman giggled. "All right, just for a few minutes. Thank you for asking so politely, Summer."
"Yay!" she cheered. "Come on, Lily!"
She laughed and happily followed her older sister. They then tried on various kinds of sunglasses, making silly faces at each other. The cashier, a young woman with brunette hair, smiled at the siblings.
The Pokémon spying on them nodded and said, "That girl will be perfect for them…"
"Oohhh..." Summer gasped. "Let me get these!"
As she grabbed a glittery pair of orange sunglasses and put them on, a sudden gust of wind knocked her to the ground. A shrill scream filled the air, and Summer whipped around. A large orange Pokémon with small wings and two antennae scooped up her thrashing sister. It paid no attention to the struggling but made sure she was secure in its arms.
"Y-you bird!" Summer yelled. "Get away from my sister!" She grabbed onto his tail, surprising the Pokémon. It immediately took off, carrying Summer on its tail.
Their mother saw this and screamed, " No! My babies!" She ran downstairs, got her husband, and they frantically tried to catch up to their daughters.
Summer was shaking because of the height and the fast flying Pokémon, but she refused to let go. The Pokémon saw she was still holding onto its tail and shook it, causing her to lose her grip.
"AAAHHHHH!"
Suddenly an aqua blue Pokémon with a flowing purple mane and white streamer-like tails appeared and grabbed onto her orange shirt. After it they landed, it carefully dropped her in a nearby park. But before she could get a good look at her rescuer, it dashed across the western bay and disappeared.
"Summer, is that you?" an elderly female voice asked.
The girl turned around and saw her grandmother, Lan, with her Meganium, Caomei. She ran into her arms and cried into her long grey hair.
"Gr-granny Lan..." she whimpered. "L-Lily's..."
"Shhh..." Lan whispered. "It's okay, Summer."
A woman in her 60s stomped towards the two and shouted at the girl, "There you are, you little thief! You stole my most expensive pair of sunglasses! I need them! Hand them back now!"
Lan carried her sobbing granddaughter and scolded, "How dare you talk to my granddaughter like that! Don't you know she just lost her sister?!"
"I don't care! My business is all I care about! She's worthless, too reckless for her own good!"
Lan couldn't believe the woman's arrogance but handed back the orange sunglasses. Proud to receive her prized possession, she turned around and marched back to the department store.
"It's all my fault!" Summer bawled. "Why didn't I let Mommy know?" Lan to reassure her grandchild, but it was no use. She was so hurt by the shopkeeper's words, no comfort could ease her guilt.
Her parents ran over, slightly relieved to find their first daughter.
"Are you okay, Summer?" her mother calmly asked. Summer didn't answer, but Lan allowed her to climb into her daughter-in-law's arms.
"Mom, what happened?" Summer's father asked.
Lan replied, "A Dragonite took Lily." She then held onto her son, who stumbled from the shocking news. She smiled at him. "Don't worry, Bill. I'll see if I can find her."
He started to cry. "D-does she know anything, Mom?"
Lan looked towards the west. "Maybe…she scouted ahead. Hopefully I'll see her soon."
She sent out her Altaria, Sha, who was ready to find her owner's granddaughter. The elderly woman stroked the crying girl's hair and whispered, "Don't cry, Summer."
Summer blearily looked at her grandmother and slowly nodded. Her mother handed her a tissue and she used it to wipe away her daughter's tears. The cashier from the sunglasses store ran out of the store, and unlike the owner, wanted to make sure the girl was okay.
Lan smiled, and they took off, with her friend leading the way. Although they headed to the Kanto Region, Lan had a suspicious feeling about the identity of the Pokémon's owner.