Post by Kamish on Jan 12, 2008 5:42:32 GMT -5
A throbbing, incessant headache is definitely not one of the most pleasant things in the world to wake up to, Kira Birch decided groggily, groaning and burying her head back into her pillows.
She sighed, nuzzling the soft pillow and kicking her feet, trying to cool down without actually leaving the bed. Not that she had much choice; her twin brother, Brendan, plonked himself cheerfully next to her, making the bed shift dramatically and her headache complain painfully.
Her father was one of the most well renowned Pokemon experts in the Hoenn, and her brother was a fairly talented trainer, known as much for his talent in battle as for his relation to their father.
Kira had yet to start her journey, and with a headache like this, she wasn’t sure she wanted to.
“Wakey-wakey, rise and shine, Kira!” Brendan called, tugging at the blankets.
He was doing it to spite her, she decided bitterly, wincing as sunlight sprayed across her face and half-blinded her. The world was conspiring against her. She closed her teary eyes against the blast, trying to adjust.
“Piss off,” she groaned, flailing at him with an arm.
Kira, as should be obvious, was definitely not a morning person. She cracked open a bright blue eye, and glared at her tawny-eyed brother.
“What’re you doin’ here?” she slurred, sitting up slowly, head spinning.
“Waking you up, it’s nearly ten in the morning.”
“So? It’s Sunday.”
“So you’re leaving today.”
“Meh,” Kira flopped backwards, pressing her hand to her forehead, wincing.
“Headache?”
“Yeah.”
“Again?”
“’s worse than usual.”
All her life, Kira had been plagued by chronic headaches, which partially contributed to her grouchy morning attitude. It was constant, generally a soft throb in the back of her mind, but lately, it had been getting worse. Her Dad had said it had something to do with hormones and puberty, but she doubted that somehow.
She preferred her world-hates-me theory.
“Get up and have a shower, Mum’s making French toast.”
“Ooh.”
He grinned at her, and she smiled. She was glad her brother wasn’t quite as disagreeable as she in the mornings – the results wouldn’t have been pretty.
Sitting up again, more slowly than the last time, which was saying something, she tossed her black hair out of her face, regretting that she hadn’t bothered to plait it last night. Her hair was long, reaching her hips, and she always got hellish bed-hair as a result.
“Doesn’t matter,” she mumbled, yawning and glaring at her window – she could have sworn she’d pulled the curtains last night. “Conditioner’ll sort it out.”
She glanced at her room, checking that everything (unlike the window, which she distinctly remembered curtaining) was still the same as the previous night.
A computer desk, cluttered by a clock and a computer, as well as some stationary, a notebook and her Pokedex, stood opposite the bed. Beside that was a small television, which had a game system hooked up to it, a game system she hadn’t played in weeks. A book case, with many well-worn books on its shelves, stood against the north wall, the window just beside it.
Her bedside table held a few personal items, a photograph of the family, a favoured book, and six pokeballs, all empty. The bedside table was actually a chest of drawers, containing all her clothing and underwear. Well, it used to. Now most of it was packed into a backpack, which rested beside the door.
Kira stretched, and decided everything was in order. Time for a shower.
The bathroom was just down the hall, between her room and Brendan’s, while her parent’s room was at the opposite end – lucky parents got an ensuite.
She turned on the water, and stepped into the spray, abandoning her clothes to the hamper.
---
Luna Willow stretched up, fumbling with the buttons on the clock placed just a little too high on the wall. Finally satisfied with the numbers, she flopped back on her bed and decided, with conviction, she hated moving.
She didn’t mind being in new places, in fact, she enjoyed seeing new places, but she hated all the stress and panic that accompanied the journey. She hated the packing and unpacking, the ridiculously difficult decisions about the placement of furniture, and, on top of that, the boring, impossibly long car trip.
Riding in the back of a moving van wasn’t as much fun at the age of twelve as it had seemed when she was five. Constantly wondering if she was about to be crushed under a box of knickknacks wasn’t the best way to make a trip.
But she liked Littleroot, it was small and so far seemed friendly enough. Not that she’d be staying long – from what she’d heard, Professor Birch lived in town, and she’d be able to get her starter Pokemon from him, then set off once and for all.
It was a little disappointing that she wouldn’t get to make any new friends, being constantly on the move, but she’d deal with that. After all, she’d have her Pokemon for company.
Luna stood up again, pulling a hair band off her wrist – she always kept one there – and tied her platinum blonde hair back. It made absolutely no sense for her to have such a hair colour, after all, both of her parents were dark haired. Apparently her father’s mother (she didn’t call the woman her grandmother, because she had never met her) had had the same hair as she.
She was glad, and a little smug, that she had thought to take some headache pills, because her head would have been killing her by now. As it was, there was an insistent throb at the back of her mind, a gentle reminder of the headaches she’d been victim to for years. They were worse lately… her mother said it was just the stress of moving that was doing it, and Luna decided it was easiest to believe that.
Pulling the single-strap backpack on, she took the stairs two at a time, arriving in the living room to find the Pokemon movers gone and her mother looking intently at the television screen.
“Luna, hurry! I think your father’s on!”
Excited, the blue-eyed girl dashed to look, but caught only the end of the reporter’s announcement.
She and her mother sighed, disappointed. Luna hadn’t spoken to her Dad in weeks, mainly because he was busy with his Gym Leader duties, and they with the frantic pre-moving preparations. She missed him.
“Sorry honey, I think he was on, but we just missed him.”
Mum looked sympathetic and a little down about this, but quickly changed topic.
“Why don’t you go visit our new neighbours? I think that Professor Birch and his family live close by.”
Professor Birch had always been a good friend of her father’s, but she’d never met the Birch family before. Maybe they’d have a child she could journey with!
“Okay Mum.”
“Be careful!”
“I will!”
And Luna left the house.
---
Now dressed in a black shirt with thin straps around each shoulder (not over, beside her neck, but around horizontally) that showed off her belly, white knee-length pants and mid upper-arm length gloves, Kira reached for a necklace on her bedside table. It was actually more of a choker, the black fabric smooth and comfortable around her neck. A light weight pendant hung in the hollow below her throat – a yin pendant.
It was half of a yin-yang style pendant, and she’d had it ever since she was a small child. It was her favourite necklace, and she only had a few.
Pulling on the bag, which hung securely at her waist and was a light grey-ish colour, she glanced one last time at her room, then left.
She had packed the pokeballs into her bag, and the bag was still light despite the other items she’d added to her collection. She had packed few clothes, reconsidering the bulging pack when she realised how much it was going to weigh. She now carried two pairs of pyjamas, a bathing suit, a jacket, another change of clothes and some extra socks.
She was still amazed by how compact everything was, and how well it fitted into the still mostly-empty bag.
Kira descended the stairs, and was hugged tightly by her tearful mother. Rolling her eyes, but feeling slightly nostalgic as well, she endured the speech about how fast she was growing up, and how short a time ago it seemed she’d been learning to read.
“Mum, calm down,” she finally snapped exasperatedly. “I’ll call whenever I can, and I promise I’ll by some letter paper at Slateport when I get there, okay?”
“Oh, I’m sorry sweetie,” she sighed, smiling sadly. “I know you’re twelve, but it’s going to be so strange here without you or your brother around… maybe you’ll have another little brother or sister when you get back.”
Kira shuddered. “One sibling it more than enough, Mum.”
Her mother laughed, hugged her one last time and waved her out the door with some toast in hand. She knew Kira preferred to eat alone, which saddened her. Kira usually preferred to do things alone, rather than with her brother or the rest of the family.
“Bye!”
“Call me as soon as you get to Oldale, promise?”
“I promise, Mother!”
It was clear Kira was annoyed from her tone, so Lisa Birch smiled and waved until the door clicked shut behind her only daughter.
Taking a shaky breath, Lisa turned her attention to clearing the kitchen, trying to ignore the sorrow at the departure of her baby girl, and the impending one of her precious son.
---
“Hm…” Kira glanced at the neighbouring house. “Looks like the rumours were true, the Willow family’s moved in… I wonder if the kid’s a girl.”
Shrugging, she decided it didn’t matter, and grit her teeth as a throb of headache pain wracked her head. Muttering under her breath, she fought off the urge to sit down, and continued towards the break in the trees marking the path to Oldale town.
She knew that her father would be close by, after all, Brendan had said he was working in that area for the morning, and would bid her farewell on her way out of town. Her new shoes felt weird, different to usual. She wasn’t used to the running shoes both she and Brendan had received from their mother, but they were comfortable enough.
Kira drew in a deep breath, catching the lingering scent of petrol in the air, and wrinkled her nose. Cars were noisy and stunk worse than a Muk in heat. She definitely didn’t like them.
Scowling characteristically, she left the tunnel-like trees, and found herself in the familiar area of route 101. To her left, a patch of tall grass perfect for Pokemon to live in, was visible, and among the short green forest, she could see her father, observing silently.
She stepped off the faint, unofficial path, carved out by the feet of travellers and children alike over the years, and quietly approached her father.
When Kira realised he was looking at faint paw-prints, she decided it would be safe to speak.
“Hey Dad.”
The brunette man jumped, then grinned broadly at his daughter. “Kira, finally starting out then, eh?”
“Yep,” she grinned back.
She and her Dad were close, not as close as he and Brendan, but close just the same.
“Well, you’re going to need a Pokemon, it’s dangerous to travel alone with wild Pokemon about,” her father said seriously. “Can’t have my little girl getting herself in trouble!”
Kira groaned, pretending to endure a protective hug from her father.
‘Why do I get stuck with the sappy, huggy family?’ she wondered.
“It’s alright Dad, I’m going to catch something on the way.”
“Nonsense!” Dad scoffed. “You’ll take one of these little ones, they’ll take good care of you.”
“Alright, alright,” Kira hid a smile, her father was very proud of his starter Pokemon.
She unzipped the bag, which was filled with a bunch of things – notebooks, several pokedexes, a few spare pokeballs, some medical supplies, a camera, and some specimen jars – and wasn’t entirely surprised when three pokeballs burst out. The bag was bulging with stuff, and the trio of pokeballs seemed to barely fit.
“You planned this!” Kira accused.
Her father had no real reason to bring the starters with him, unless he had planned to force her into picking one – if the idea had been planned, she had no hope of escaping.
She glared at him lightly, then returned her attention to the pokeballs, which had rolled about a bit, and were now spread out.
Kira picked up the one on the far left, and examined it a moment, curious.
“Good choice,” her father acknowledged. “That’s Treecko in there.”
She nodded. Grass-type Pokemon weren’t her favourite, but they did have their advantages. On top of that, if she wasn’t mistaken, the first Gym Leader used rock-ground types. Her job, with this Pokemon, would be considerably easier.
“Why don’t you go and get to know each other up ahead? Then come back when you’re ready to leave?” Dad suggested.
Kira nodded, it did sound like a good idea. Plus she’d get to train a little, maybe pick up some berries or something.
“Bye Dad!”
“See you later, Kira.”
---
When Luna knocked on the door, a feminine voice welcomed her in, and she opened it. The house inside was build pretty much the same as her new house, but the furniture was arranged differently.
At the kitchen table sat a young woman with brown hair and blue eyes, she looked around the same age as Luna’s mother, and had a kind face. Luna caught a glimpse of a sad expression before interest took over.
The woman abandoned her tea, and hurried over to Luna, looking her quickly up and down before smiling.
“Ah, you must be Norman’s daughter!” she greeted. “Luna, wasn’t it?”
“Yes ma’am,” Luna smiled back.
The woman had a good natured feel to her, and her interest and excitement seemed real.
“Why don’t you go meet my son, Brendan?” she offered, “His room is just up those stairs, third door on your right.”
“Thank you.”
Ah, so they had a son, Luna mused. No matter, it wouldn’t be entirely bad travelling with a boy, she supposed, though that would depend on whether he was nice.
She passed by two closed doors, and entered the third room. The door was open, but she knocked politely on the doorjamb to catch the boy’s attention. He looked up, surprised, and smiled at her.
He had white hair, and was packing a backpack similar to hers, only in green (while hers was white). He was pretty good looking, she noted, unable to stop the thought, and he had brown eyes. He was wearing gloves a bit like hers, only missing the fingers, and red where hers were white.
“Hello, you must be Norman’s kid, right?” he inquired. “Weird, I thought you’d be a guy, considering you’re the Gym Leader’s kid…”
He trailed off, apparently realising he was rambling, and smiled.
“You’re a trainer, right?”
“Yeah, my name’s Luna Willow.”
“I’m Brendan,” he offered her a hand to shake, getting up from his computer desk, where he was packing. “Brendan Birch.”
“Great to meet you,” Luna grinned, shaking his hand.
“Have you gotten your first Pokemon yet?”
“No… not yet, I was hoping that your Dad might be around…” she let her sentence trail off.
“Ah, sorry, he’s doing some research on route 101… I’d catch one for you, but I have to get to route 103.”
“That’s okay. I’ll just wait until he gets back.”
“Nice meeting you,” he called over his shoulder, having zipped his backpack up, slung it over his shoulder and begun to leave.
“Yeah… you too.”
Suddenly alone in a stranger’s room, she felt uncomfortable. It seemed rude to be there without the owner of the room, so she followed him out the door, realising he’d already left, and was quite fast.
“Sorry about him,” Mrs. Birch smiled apologetically. “Boys, you know?”
“Yeah, thank you for your hospitality.”
“You’re quite welcome, dear. Come back any time you like!”
Luna had the impression that Mrs. Birch was rather lonely, but she was already outside, and what could she do about it anyway?
“Well…” she muttered to herself, standing alone in the middle of Littleroot, “I’m kind of glad I’m leaving… this place looses its novelty fast.”
With nothing better to do, she decided to head out through the little gap in the trees; maybe she’d get to see some Pokemon there!
At the entrance to the tunnel-like path, she met a little boy, who was bouncing from foot to foot and looking nervous. Blueish-black hair fell around a childish face, and a pair of wide, worried green eyes looked up at her.
“What’s wrong?” Luna asked.
“I think someone’s in trouble!” he replied, looking up the tunnel with worry as a cry for help came. “What should I do?”
“I’ll go check it out, okay?” Luna said comfortingly, trying to calm the nerves that were surfacing at the increasingly loud distress calls. “Stay here.”
She ran through the trees, biting her lip as her feet hit the grass, thudding softly. What if someone was in danger? She should have told the little boy to go for help.
‘Didn’t Brendan say Professor Birch was in route 101?’ She wondered, emerging into a clear area.
There were patches of lush grass, with a path-like section of thinner, shorter grass, and trees lining the edges. It seemed like a perfect place for Pokemon to live, if a little open. It was peaceful and beautiful, untouched and pure, unlike her previous city home.
But, in the centre of all the peace, a somewhat hefty brunette man was cowering, an enraged Zigzagoon threatening him. Despite their generally adorable appearance, there was something about this Zigzagoon that frightened her, it seemed almost rabid.
“H-help, please!” the man called. “Near my bag, there’s some pokeballs!”
Luna nodded, and crouched beside the pokeballs, trying to calm her nerves. One glance at the bag confirmed her suspicions – this was Professor Birch, her father’s friend. She grabbed the closest pokeball, the one on the left, and threw it clumsily.
Red light exploded outwards, and the ball, as if repelled by the light, flew back to Luna’s unready hand. She snatched it up, fumbling, and turned to the small Pokemon awaiting orders.
“Torchic! use… uh,” she thought hard. “Scratch!”
Unused to orders, but more than willing to help, the Torchic swiped enthusiastically at the Zigzagoon with its harmless-seeming claws. Distracted from its previous target, the Zigzagoon turned its furious eyes on a new prey – a prey that was going to fight back.
---
“H-Help!”
Kira’s head turned from the battle she was holding against a weak Wurmple. Her Treecko was taking it down easily with a few successive Pound attacks, using its evasion skills to dodge the counter attack.
“Treecko, finish it with another pound attack!” she ordered. “Quickly.”
The green gecko-like creature nodded without glancing back at her and leapt into the air, spinning to direct his powerful tail downwards at the enemy. The Wurmple, already barely hanging on after a direct hit and a glancing blow, didn’t have the speed to dodge, nor the endurance to fight back after that.
“C’mon,” she offered an arm, and her Treecko leapt up to grip her shoulder.
She couldn’t see her father from her current location, but she surged forwards, ignoring a startled Poochyena and catching sight of a fence. Because of the angle of the path, it was possible to vault over the fence, which she did without hesitation.
“Torchic! Use… uh… Scratch!”
She heard a panicky voice, definitely female, and a second later, caught sight of a blonde-haired girl about her own age. She was directing a Torchic, and by the looks of it, was definitely new at this.
The attack did its work though, because the Zigzagoon’s attention left her father, and turned to the Torchic.
“Treecko, use Pound!” lingered on the back of her tongue, waiting to be used, should the girl need assistance. However, she was gaining confidence, her back straightening and her eyes levelling. The blonde’s breathing was beginning to even out, and her commands more firm.
“Dodge it!” the blonde ordered, and the Torchic obeyed, twirling out of the way of a brutal looking Tackle. “Now use Scratch one more time!”
The injured Zigzagoon tried in vain to dodge, but was taken out easily.
“Good job, Torchic!” the blonde girl was slightly flushed, and was grinning from ear to ear as the enthusiastic chick Pokemon bounced around her.
“You’re pretty good for a rookie,” Kira acknowledged.
The girl jumped, cheeks aflame and smiled at her bashfully.
“Sorry, didn’t see you there.”
Kira spotted the Zigzagoon struggling to its feet, and was struck with an idea.
“Do you want to catch it?” Kira asked quickly.
“What? No. I don’t have any-.”
Before the blonde girl could finish her sentence, Kira had slipped her hand inside the ball pocket, which had an elastic mouth to seal it off rather than a zipper, and drawn out a standard, red and white pokeball.
The sphere bounced off the sequential fur, and red light spurted out, engulfing the racoon-like Pokemon.
Landing softly amidst the long grass, the sphere rocked, shuddered, quivered, shivered, then lay still, a soft sound and a dim flash indicating the Pokemon had been caught.
Kira grinned as her father, looking relieved and happy, picked it up.
“Well done, Kira,” he smiled, handing over Kira’s capture, and then turned to the other girl. “You’re Norman’s daughter, right?”
The blonde nodded. “I’m Luna Willow.”
Ah-ha! The blonde was her would-be neighbour then, it had been a girl.
She ignored the conversation from that point, examining the other girl. She was wearing a long-sleeved white t-shirt with a pair of camouflage pants in white, grey and black. Her hair was very pale blonde, and hung to about her mid back in a low pony-tail. Luna’s backpack was the same as Brendan’s, only grey.
But of all these things, it was her eyes caught Kira’s attention.
They were the same eyes she was used to seeing in the mirror every morning.
---
“I guess it’s not all that surprising that you can handle yourself well in a battle then!” Professor Birch laughed cheerfully. “You and Torchic were very impressive!”
“Thank you, sir,” Luna blushed slightly. “Are you okay?”
“Oh, I’m fine!” Professor Birch smiled.
Luna was of the impression that Professor Birch was a friendly, well meaning and generally very likeable, if a little scatterbrained at times. Despite the chatter he was bringing forth, she couldn’t seem to concentrate on him. The black-haired girl’s eyes were on her, raising the little hairs all over her body with the intensity of the gaze.
Unable to stop herself, she glanced at the other girl – Kira, she recalled.
Professor Birch smiled, “I’m sorry, forgive me. I’m rambling again.”
“No, no, it’s okay,” Luna assured him, wincing internally as she realised she had been notably vacant. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it, I’m sure you don’t want to stand here listening to an old man talking all day,” Birch waved her apology off. “I’m sorry, this is my daughter, Kira.”
Kira was still analysing her, but her lips quirked into a smile for a second.
“Uh… Hi?” Luna offered, unsure.
“Hello.”
Kira clearly wasn’t a talkative person like her father, and her expression, once a standard smile was given, returned to calm and impassive. It was somewhat disconcerting, but the presence wasn’t entirely unpleasant.
The Treecko on her shoulder was eyeing the hyperactive Torchic warily, and Kira had hooked the pokeball containing the Zigzagoon was tucked carefully into her belt, hooked onto a small, hidden hook.
“Luna, you keep that Torchic,” Birch told her. “You’re just starting out, yes?”
She nodded.
“Then you probably haven’t got a Pokemon yet,” at another nod, he continued. “You seem to get along very well with Torchic, and I think it would be the best thing.”
“Thank you.”
She sighed, nuzzling the soft pillow and kicking her feet, trying to cool down without actually leaving the bed. Not that she had much choice; her twin brother, Brendan, plonked himself cheerfully next to her, making the bed shift dramatically and her headache complain painfully.
Her father was one of the most well renowned Pokemon experts in the Hoenn, and her brother was a fairly talented trainer, known as much for his talent in battle as for his relation to their father.
Kira had yet to start her journey, and with a headache like this, she wasn’t sure she wanted to.
“Wakey-wakey, rise and shine, Kira!” Brendan called, tugging at the blankets.
He was doing it to spite her, she decided bitterly, wincing as sunlight sprayed across her face and half-blinded her. The world was conspiring against her. She closed her teary eyes against the blast, trying to adjust.
“Piss off,” she groaned, flailing at him with an arm.
Kira, as should be obvious, was definitely not a morning person. She cracked open a bright blue eye, and glared at her tawny-eyed brother.
“What’re you doin’ here?” she slurred, sitting up slowly, head spinning.
“Waking you up, it’s nearly ten in the morning.”
“So? It’s Sunday.”
“So you’re leaving today.”
“Meh,” Kira flopped backwards, pressing her hand to her forehead, wincing.
“Headache?”
“Yeah.”
“Again?”
“’s worse than usual.”
All her life, Kira had been plagued by chronic headaches, which partially contributed to her grouchy morning attitude. It was constant, generally a soft throb in the back of her mind, but lately, it had been getting worse. Her Dad had said it had something to do with hormones and puberty, but she doubted that somehow.
She preferred her world-hates-me theory.
“Get up and have a shower, Mum’s making French toast.”
“Ooh.”
He grinned at her, and she smiled. She was glad her brother wasn’t quite as disagreeable as she in the mornings – the results wouldn’t have been pretty.
Sitting up again, more slowly than the last time, which was saying something, she tossed her black hair out of her face, regretting that she hadn’t bothered to plait it last night. Her hair was long, reaching her hips, and she always got hellish bed-hair as a result.
“Doesn’t matter,” she mumbled, yawning and glaring at her window – she could have sworn she’d pulled the curtains last night. “Conditioner’ll sort it out.”
She glanced at her room, checking that everything (unlike the window, which she distinctly remembered curtaining) was still the same as the previous night.
A computer desk, cluttered by a clock and a computer, as well as some stationary, a notebook and her Pokedex, stood opposite the bed. Beside that was a small television, which had a game system hooked up to it, a game system she hadn’t played in weeks. A book case, with many well-worn books on its shelves, stood against the north wall, the window just beside it.
Her bedside table held a few personal items, a photograph of the family, a favoured book, and six pokeballs, all empty. The bedside table was actually a chest of drawers, containing all her clothing and underwear. Well, it used to. Now most of it was packed into a backpack, which rested beside the door.
Kira stretched, and decided everything was in order. Time for a shower.
The bathroom was just down the hall, between her room and Brendan’s, while her parent’s room was at the opposite end – lucky parents got an ensuite.
She turned on the water, and stepped into the spray, abandoning her clothes to the hamper.
---
Luna Willow stretched up, fumbling with the buttons on the clock placed just a little too high on the wall. Finally satisfied with the numbers, she flopped back on her bed and decided, with conviction, she hated moving.
She didn’t mind being in new places, in fact, she enjoyed seeing new places, but she hated all the stress and panic that accompanied the journey. She hated the packing and unpacking, the ridiculously difficult decisions about the placement of furniture, and, on top of that, the boring, impossibly long car trip.
Riding in the back of a moving van wasn’t as much fun at the age of twelve as it had seemed when she was five. Constantly wondering if she was about to be crushed under a box of knickknacks wasn’t the best way to make a trip.
But she liked Littleroot, it was small and so far seemed friendly enough. Not that she’d be staying long – from what she’d heard, Professor Birch lived in town, and she’d be able to get her starter Pokemon from him, then set off once and for all.
It was a little disappointing that she wouldn’t get to make any new friends, being constantly on the move, but she’d deal with that. After all, she’d have her Pokemon for company.
Luna stood up again, pulling a hair band off her wrist – she always kept one there – and tied her platinum blonde hair back. It made absolutely no sense for her to have such a hair colour, after all, both of her parents were dark haired. Apparently her father’s mother (she didn’t call the woman her grandmother, because she had never met her) had had the same hair as she.
She was glad, and a little smug, that she had thought to take some headache pills, because her head would have been killing her by now. As it was, there was an insistent throb at the back of her mind, a gentle reminder of the headaches she’d been victim to for years. They were worse lately… her mother said it was just the stress of moving that was doing it, and Luna decided it was easiest to believe that.
Pulling the single-strap backpack on, she took the stairs two at a time, arriving in the living room to find the Pokemon movers gone and her mother looking intently at the television screen.
“Luna, hurry! I think your father’s on!”
Excited, the blue-eyed girl dashed to look, but caught only the end of the reporter’s announcement.
She and her mother sighed, disappointed. Luna hadn’t spoken to her Dad in weeks, mainly because he was busy with his Gym Leader duties, and they with the frantic pre-moving preparations. She missed him.
“Sorry honey, I think he was on, but we just missed him.”
Mum looked sympathetic and a little down about this, but quickly changed topic.
“Why don’t you go visit our new neighbours? I think that Professor Birch and his family live close by.”
Professor Birch had always been a good friend of her father’s, but she’d never met the Birch family before. Maybe they’d have a child she could journey with!
“Okay Mum.”
“Be careful!”
“I will!”
And Luna left the house.
---
Now dressed in a black shirt with thin straps around each shoulder (not over, beside her neck, but around horizontally) that showed off her belly, white knee-length pants and mid upper-arm length gloves, Kira reached for a necklace on her bedside table. It was actually more of a choker, the black fabric smooth and comfortable around her neck. A light weight pendant hung in the hollow below her throat – a yin pendant.
It was half of a yin-yang style pendant, and she’d had it ever since she was a small child. It was her favourite necklace, and she only had a few.
Pulling on the bag, which hung securely at her waist and was a light grey-ish colour, she glanced one last time at her room, then left.
She had packed the pokeballs into her bag, and the bag was still light despite the other items she’d added to her collection. She had packed few clothes, reconsidering the bulging pack when she realised how much it was going to weigh. She now carried two pairs of pyjamas, a bathing suit, a jacket, another change of clothes and some extra socks.
She was still amazed by how compact everything was, and how well it fitted into the still mostly-empty bag.
Kira descended the stairs, and was hugged tightly by her tearful mother. Rolling her eyes, but feeling slightly nostalgic as well, she endured the speech about how fast she was growing up, and how short a time ago it seemed she’d been learning to read.
“Mum, calm down,” she finally snapped exasperatedly. “I’ll call whenever I can, and I promise I’ll by some letter paper at Slateport when I get there, okay?”
“Oh, I’m sorry sweetie,” she sighed, smiling sadly. “I know you’re twelve, but it’s going to be so strange here without you or your brother around… maybe you’ll have another little brother or sister when you get back.”
Kira shuddered. “One sibling it more than enough, Mum.”
Her mother laughed, hugged her one last time and waved her out the door with some toast in hand. She knew Kira preferred to eat alone, which saddened her. Kira usually preferred to do things alone, rather than with her brother or the rest of the family.
“Bye!”
“Call me as soon as you get to Oldale, promise?”
“I promise, Mother!”
It was clear Kira was annoyed from her tone, so Lisa Birch smiled and waved until the door clicked shut behind her only daughter.
Taking a shaky breath, Lisa turned her attention to clearing the kitchen, trying to ignore the sorrow at the departure of her baby girl, and the impending one of her precious son.
---
“Hm…” Kira glanced at the neighbouring house. “Looks like the rumours were true, the Willow family’s moved in… I wonder if the kid’s a girl.”
Shrugging, she decided it didn’t matter, and grit her teeth as a throb of headache pain wracked her head. Muttering under her breath, she fought off the urge to sit down, and continued towards the break in the trees marking the path to Oldale town.
She knew that her father would be close by, after all, Brendan had said he was working in that area for the morning, and would bid her farewell on her way out of town. Her new shoes felt weird, different to usual. She wasn’t used to the running shoes both she and Brendan had received from their mother, but they were comfortable enough.
Kira drew in a deep breath, catching the lingering scent of petrol in the air, and wrinkled her nose. Cars were noisy and stunk worse than a Muk in heat. She definitely didn’t like them.
Scowling characteristically, she left the tunnel-like trees, and found herself in the familiar area of route 101. To her left, a patch of tall grass perfect for Pokemon to live in, was visible, and among the short green forest, she could see her father, observing silently.
She stepped off the faint, unofficial path, carved out by the feet of travellers and children alike over the years, and quietly approached her father.
When Kira realised he was looking at faint paw-prints, she decided it would be safe to speak.
“Hey Dad.”
The brunette man jumped, then grinned broadly at his daughter. “Kira, finally starting out then, eh?”
“Yep,” she grinned back.
She and her Dad were close, not as close as he and Brendan, but close just the same.
“Well, you’re going to need a Pokemon, it’s dangerous to travel alone with wild Pokemon about,” her father said seriously. “Can’t have my little girl getting herself in trouble!”
Kira groaned, pretending to endure a protective hug from her father.
‘Why do I get stuck with the sappy, huggy family?’ she wondered.
“It’s alright Dad, I’m going to catch something on the way.”
“Nonsense!” Dad scoffed. “You’ll take one of these little ones, they’ll take good care of you.”
“Alright, alright,” Kira hid a smile, her father was very proud of his starter Pokemon.
She unzipped the bag, which was filled with a bunch of things – notebooks, several pokedexes, a few spare pokeballs, some medical supplies, a camera, and some specimen jars – and wasn’t entirely surprised when three pokeballs burst out. The bag was bulging with stuff, and the trio of pokeballs seemed to barely fit.
“You planned this!” Kira accused.
Her father had no real reason to bring the starters with him, unless he had planned to force her into picking one – if the idea had been planned, she had no hope of escaping.
She glared at him lightly, then returned her attention to the pokeballs, which had rolled about a bit, and were now spread out.
Kira picked up the one on the far left, and examined it a moment, curious.
“Good choice,” her father acknowledged. “That’s Treecko in there.”
She nodded. Grass-type Pokemon weren’t her favourite, but they did have their advantages. On top of that, if she wasn’t mistaken, the first Gym Leader used rock-ground types. Her job, with this Pokemon, would be considerably easier.
“Why don’t you go and get to know each other up ahead? Then come back when you’re ready to leave?” Dad suggested.
Kira nodded, it did sound like a good idea. Plus she’d get to train a little, maybe pick up some berries or something.
“Bye Dad!”
“See you later, Kira.”
---
When Luna knocked on the door, a feminine voice welcomed her in, and she opened it. The house inside was build pretty much the same as her new house, but the furniture was arranged differently.
At the kitchen table sat a young woman with brown hair and blue eyes, she looked around the same age as Luna’s mother, and had a kind face. Luna caught a glimpse of a sad expression before interest took over.
The woman abandoned her tea, and hurried over to Luna, looking her quickly up and down before smiling.
“Ah, you must be Norman’s daughter!” she greeted. “Luna, wasn’t it?”
“Yes ma’am,” Luna smiled back.
The woman had a good natured feel to her, and her interest and excitement seemed real.
“Why don’t you go meet my son, Brendan?” she offered, “His room is just up those stairs, third door on your right.”
“Thank you.”
Ah, so they had a son, Luna mused. No matter, it wouldn’t be entirely bad travelling with a boy, she supposed, though that would depend on whether he was nice.
She passed by two closed doors, and entered the third room. The door was open, but she knocked politely on the doorjamb to catch the boy’s attention. He looked up, surprised, and smiled at her.
He had white hair, and was packing a backpack similar to hers, only in green (while hers was white). He was pretty good looking, she noted, unable to stop the thought, and he had brown eyes. He was wearing gloves a bit like hers, only missing the fingers, and red where hers were white.
“Hello, you must be Norman’s kid, right?” he inquired. “Weird, I thought you’d be a guy, considering you’re the Gym Leader’s kid…”
He trailed off, apparently realising he was rambling, and smiled.
“You’re a trainer, right?”
“Yeah, my name’s Luna Willow.”
“I’m Brendan,” he offered her a hand to shake, getting up from his computer desk, where he was packing. “Brendan Birch.”
“Great to meet you,” Luna grinned, shaking his hand.
“Have you gotten your first Pokemon yet?”
“No… not yet, I was hoping that your Dad might be around…” she let her sentence trail off.
“Ah, sorry, he’s doing some research on route 101… I’d catch one for you, but I have to get to route 103.”
“That’s okay. I’ll just wait until he gets back.”
“Nice meeting you,” he called over his shoulder, having zipped his backpack up, slung it over his shoulder and begun to leave.
“Yeah… you too.”
Suddenly alone in a stranger’s room, she felt uncomfortable. It seemed rude to be there without the owner of the room, so she followed him out the door, realising he’d already left, and was quite fast.
“Sorry about him,” Mrs. Birch smiled apologetically. “Boys, you know?”
“Yeah, thank you for your hospitality.”
“You’re quite welcome, dear. Come back any time you like!”
Luna had the impression that Mrs. Birch was rather lonely, but she was already outside, and what could she do about it anyway?
“Well…” she muttered to herself, standing alone in the middle of Littleroot, “I’m kind of glad I’m leaving… this place looses its novelty fast.”
With nothing better to do, she decided to head out through the little gap in the trees; maybe she’d get to see some Pokemon there!
At the entrance to the tunnel-like path, she met a little boy, who was bouncing from foot to foot and looking nervous. Blueish-black hair fell around a childish face, and a pair of wide, worried green eyes looked up at her.
“What’s wrong?” Luna asked.
“I think someone’s in trouble!” he replied, looking up the tunnel with worry as a cry for help came. “What should I do?”
“I’ll go check it out, okay?” Luna said comfortingly, trying to calm the nerves that were surfacing at the increasingly loud distress calls. “Stay here.”
She ran through the trees, biting her lip as her feet hit the grass, thudding softly. What if someone was in danger? She should have told the little boy to go for help.
‘Didn’t Brendan say Professor Birch was in route 101?’ She wondered, emerging into a clear area.
There were patches of lush grass, with a path-like section of thinner, shorter grass, and trees lining the edges. It seemed like a perfect place for Pokemon to live, if a little open. It was peaceful and beautiful, untouched and pure, unlike her previous city home.
But, in the centre of all the peace, a somewhat hefty brunette man was cowering, an enraged Zigzagoon threatening him. Despite their generally adorable appearance, there was something about this Zigzagoon that frightened her, it seemed almost rabid.
“H-help, please!” the man called. “Near my bag, there’s some pokeballs!”
Luna nodded, and crouched beside the pokeballs, trying to calm her nerves. One glance at the bag confirmed her suspicions – this was Professor Birch, her father’s friend. She grabbed the closest pokeball, the one on the left, and threw it clumsily.
Red light exploded outwards, and the ball, as if repelled by the light, flew back to Luna’s unready hand. She snatched it up, fumbling, and turned to the small Pokemon awaiting orders.
“Torchic! use… uh,” she thought hard. “Scratch!”
Unused to orders, but more than willing to help, the Torchic swiped enthusiastically at the Zigzagoon with its harmless-seeming claws. Distracted from its previous target, the Zigzagoon turned its furious eyes on a new prey – a prey that was going to fight back.
---
“H-Help!”
Kira’s head turned from the battle she was holding against a weak Wurmple. Her Treecko was taking it down easily with a few successive Pound attacks, using its evasion skills to dodge the counter attack.
“Treecko, finish it with another pound attack!” she ordered. “Quickly.”
The green gecko-like creature nodded without glancing back at her and leapt into the air, spinning to direct his powerful tail downwards at the enemy. The Wurmple, already barely hanging on after a direct hit and a glancing blow, didn’t have the speed to dodge, nor the endurance to fight back after that.
“C’mon,” she offered an arm, and her Treecko leapt up to grip her shoulder.
She couldn’t see her father from her current location, but she surged forwards, ignoring a startled Poochyena and catching sight of a fence. Because of the angle of the path, it was possible to vault over the fence, which she did without hesitation.
“Torchic! Use… uh… Scratch!”
She heard a panicky voice, definitely female, and a second later, caught sight of a blonde-haired girl about her own age. She was directing a Torchic, and by the looks of it, was definitely new at this.
The attack did its work though, because the Zigzagoon’s attention left her father, and turned to the Torchic.
“Treecko, use Pound!” lingered on the back of her tongue, waiting to be used, should the girl need assistance. However, she was gaining confidence, her back straightening and her eyes levelling. The blonde’s breathing was beginning to even out, and her commands more firm.
“Dodge it!” the blonde ordered, and the Torchic obeyed, twirling out of the way of a brutal looking Tackle. “Now use Scratch one more time!”
The injured Zigzagoon tried in vain to dodge, but was taken out easily.
“Good job, Torchic!” the blonde girl was slightly flushed, and was grinning from ear to ear as the enthusiastic chick Pokemon bounced around her.
“You’re pretty good for a rookie,” Kira acknowledged.
The girl jumped, cheeks aflame and smiled at her bashfully.
“Sorry, didn’t see you there.”
Kira spotted the Zigzagoon struggling to its feet, and was struck with an idea.
“Do you want to catch it?” Kira asked quickly.
“What? No. I don’t have any-.”
Before the blonde girl could finish her sentence, Kira had slipped her hand inside the ball pocket, which had an elastic mouth to seal it off rather than a zipper, and drawn out a standard, red and white pokeball.
The sphere bounced off the sequential fur, and red light spurted out, engulfing the racoon-like Pokemon.
Landing softly amidst the long grass, the sphere rocked, shuddered, quivered, shivered, then lay still, a soft sound and a dim flash indicating the Pokemon had been caught.
Kira grinned as her father, looking relieved and happy, picked it up.
“Well done, Kira,” he smiled, handing over Kira’s capture, and then turned to the other girl. “You’re Norman’s daughter, right?”
The blonde nodded. “I’m Luna Willow.”
Ah-ha! The blonde was her would-be neighbour then, it had been a girl.
She ignored the conversation from that point, examining the other girl. She was wearing a long-sleeved white t-shirt with a pair of camouflage pants in white, grey and black. Her hair was very pale blonde, and hung to about her mid back in a low pony-tail. Luna’s backpack was the same as Brendan’s, only grey.
But of all these things, it was her eyes caught Kira’s attention.
They were the same eyes she was used to seeing in the mirror every morning.
---
“I guess it’s not all that surprising that you can handle yourself well in a battle then!” Professor Birch laughed cheerfully. “You and Torchic were very impressive!”
“Thank you, sir,” Luna blushed slightly. “Are you okay?”
“Oh, I’m fine!” Professor Birch smiled.
Luna was of the impression that Professor Birch was a friendly, well meaning and generally very likeable, if a little scatterbrained at times. Despite the chatter he was bringing forth, she couldn’t seem to concentrate on him. The black-haired girl’s eyes were on her, raising the little hairs all over her body with the intensity of the gaze.
Unable to stop herself, she glanced at the other girl – Kira, she recalled.
Professor Birch smiled, “I’m sorry, forgive me. I’m rambling again.”
“No, no, it’s okay,” Luna assured him, wincing internally as she realised she had been notably vacant. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it, I’m sure you don’t want to stand here listening to an old man talking all day,” Birch waved her apology off. “I’m sorry, this is my daughter, Kira.”
Kira was still analysing her, but her lips quirked into a smile for a second.
“Uh… Hi?” Luna offered, unsure.
“Hello.”
Kira clearly wasn’t a talkative person like her father, and her expression, once a standard smile was given, returned to calm and impassive. It was somewhat disconcerting, but the presence wasn’t entirely unpleasant.
The Treecko on her shoulder was eyeing the hyperactive Torchic warily, and Kira had hooked the pokeball containing the Zigzagoon was tucked carefully into her belt, hooked onto a small, hidden hook.
“Luna, you keep that Torchic,” Birch told her. “You’re just starting out, yes?”
She nodded.
“Then you probably haven’t got a Pokemon yet,” at another nod, he continued. “You seem to get along very well with Torchic, and I think it would be the best thing.”
“Thank you.”