Book One: Wrath, Chapter One-
The golden sun raised from the horizon as beams of light shot through the trees of the nearby forest. The light awakened a young woman who regrettingly pulled herself out of bed and prepared for the long, boring day ahead. She ran a local shop and dreaded sitting all day with nothing to do. No one ever came to it. This sleepy little town doesn't even have a Pokemon Center or a Gym, so trainers generally tend to avoid it. As she walked towards the front of her house to open the shop's doors and searched through her key ring for the right one, her good friend Flubit called her name.
"Rei, Rei," he shouted. Even he called her by the nickname. You would think that everyone forgot what her name truly was over the years. He was sitting on his porch leaning on his cane like he did every morning for the last ten years of his retirement to watch the sun rise, even though he couldn't see it anymore. The light glistened off his bald head and few remaining white hairs. She cheerfully responded and approached him. He was stoking the head of his Nidoqueen, the last remaining of his once vast amount of Pokemon from his training years, which laid in his lap. "Something is wrong with her. I think she's sick," he softly said, hoping not to disturb the beast. She knelt down to peer into her eyes. She struggled to keep them half opened. Dark rings ran under her eyes. She looked awful.
"I think your right. Don't worry, though. I'll just go into the next town to pick up some medicine, 'kay?" she cheerfully offered.
"Oh, no. I wouldn't want you to walk all that way," he kindly responded, but she insisted. She would rather spend the day going to town and back than to sit around the shop.
'Going into town'. Across the large forest was a much larger city. No roads connected it to this town, so the only way there was crossing the forest. Trekking there and back took all day. Jumping down from his porch, Rei made her way to the forest path.
"Be careful, young lady. There are reports of bandits lurking in the forest," he warned, but it was to late, for she was already well out of an ear's shot. His tired old lungs could barely carry his voice anymore. He went back to petting his Nidoqueen.
The forest was an ancient one. The trees stood taller than most buildings. The towering growths were meters in diameter. The ground was covered by the immense roots that anchored the giants to the earth, leaves, and the occasional bush and shrubbery. Scant rays of light shone through the high foliage. As Rei strolled along, she caught an unfamiliar shaped on one of the trees in the corner of her eye. She turned her head back in disbelief to confirm it. It was a Weedle, and it was crawling down the side of the tree. The reason it was so strange was since Weedles didn't naturally live in the forest. Ignoring it for some while, she then heard a screech. Turning again, she could barely see a Pidgey diving down to the Weedle's location. Knowing that the hairy bug was doomed, she could not help but to feel a little sorry for it, but went on her way.
The path ahead began to lighten as she approached the edge of the forest. As she stepped into what seemed to be blazing sunlight, her eyes adjusted to reveal the massive city. It was nothing like her hometown. Large building were everywhere with hundreds of people crowded around their bases. The noise that came from all of the commotion was deafening. Rei quickly sought out the medical center and described the symptoms to nurse. She assured her that the Nidoqueen was just suffering from a simple cold and a lack of sleep. She purchased the necessary medication to treat the Nidoqueen and some potions just in case. Finishing her needed business, she gladly returned to the serenity of the forest.
The sun was positioned for late afternoon. The trip was taking a little longer than she expected. Going through the never changing scenary, a loud sckwak startled Rei. It was about at the same spot where she saw the Weedle and Pidgey, and what she saw was not expected. Apparently, the two had gotten into a fight when she last saw them, but that was hours ago. The Weedle did not seem as doomed as she thought it was going to be, and actually seemed to be putting up a fight. The Pidgey was draped in silky threads which covered it so thickly it had trouble staying aloft. The Weedle had its share of injuries, too, however. The Pidgey flapped its wings in desperate attempts to blow the Weedle away, but could not. Meanwhile, the Weedle was mercilessly stinging the bird. Losing height and manuverability from the added weight, the Weedle scored a deadly blow on its left wing, damaging it severely. Grounded, exhausted, and hungry, the bird sought out other easier prey. After the Pidgey ran off, the Weedle fell from its injuries. Pitying it, Rei used one of the recently purchased potions on it. Not knowing what else she could do, she walked away back to the town.
She reached home at well past sunset and gave Flubit the medication. Tired from the long day of walking, she turned in early. She awakened the next morning to find that the shop's cash register was broken, and the replacement parts were sold in the city that she spent all of yesterday going to. Dreading the idea of another walk, she forced herself back down the forest path again.
Dragging herself through the still familiar scenery of the sylvan wilderness. Nothing was different from the day before. At least, this was true until about half way through it when she saw a body laying on the edge of the trail. Worried, she hastily approached it to see if the man was even alive. He was alive, but he was also a Rocket. He was acting as bait for a trap. As Rei knelt by his side, his two accompanists seized her and forced her to the ground while showing no sign of panic.
"Alright, girly," said the shortest of the bunch, "hand over all your Pokeballs, now!" His demands barely seemed threatening since his voice had a slightly high pitch to it. She held her laughter.
"I don't have any," she calmly responded.
"You think we believe that?" queried the fat one. "Well, lets check her for cash or jewels. She has to have something of value," he suggested to the others. Suddenly, the one that previously was on the ground started to scream violently. He began jumping around shaking his leg.
"Something's on me," he told them. "Get it off." A smile cracked on Rei's face as she vaguely recognized the shaped of Weedle clinging to his leg. The Rocket continued panicking like a little girl as the other two attempted to aid him. He ended up kicking one in the face and stepping on the others foot before he kicked the bug off far away into some bushes. "Now that that's over with..." he began to utter, but when he turned around, their captive was long gone. She had slipped away during the confusion.
They did not follow her, for she took an alternate path, and reached the city just fine. After purchasing the needed parts, she took the less traveled road again to prevent anymore unpleasant encounters. For some odd reason, she had the feeling that she was being followed. Although she checked behind herself regularly, no one was seen. She came back to town just as the sun laid to rest on the horizon. Before sleeping to sleep, she placed out a small plate of food outside of the window of the shop. She had a feeling.
As her eyes opened for the first time the next day, there wasn't any sunlight beaming into them. As she sat up in bed and peered out the window, she saw laying on top of a now empty plate a Weedle. She walked to it and opened it. A cool breeze came into the room along with the fuzzy bug.
"I just wanted to thank you for what you did for me yesterday," she told it. It sat there staring at her with its beady little eyes. "That was a brave thing you did." Still, it continued staring at her. Its eyes pierced her soul. It didn't seem to understand a word said. It just inched its way towards the edge of the window sill towards her. Reluctantly, Rei stretched down her arm, and it began to ascend. Its fuzzy body tickled her skin. When it reached her neck, it curled around and closed its eyes. She sighed. She had never trained a Pokemon before or even tried to catch one, but here she was with one.
