The blonde haired girl sighed heavily as she gazed outside her bedroom window. The early morning mist was slowly fading through the quiet town of Lavender. The sun had just barely began to peak over the top of the mountains, bathing the town in that bluish glow of early morning.
For most people who rose at early morning who didn't have a high demanding work schedule, dawn was a peaceful and relaxing time of day. But for Nichole Fantom'e it was depressing and miserable. To her it meant the excitement of watching the ghost pokemon drift about the town was over. All day she looked foreward to watching the pokemon appear, hoping she might just spot that strange balloon-looking one once more. And as she watched the sun make more of an appearance, she realized it would be another day before she got the chance again. With one final crestfallen look at the beginning of a new day, she backed away from the window and shut the curtains, making her bedroom fade to almost darkness.
"Nichole! Breakfast!" Her aunt's nasily voice called from downstairs. Nichole sighed once more. Her aunt and uncle were always up at the crack of dawn; Jack, her uncle, worked at the power plant a little ways north of Lavender, and Suzy, her aunt ran a flower and berry shop in town. Nichole had been helping her aunt in the store since she was ten years old, and still hated it as much as she did the first day.
"Hurry or it'll get cold!" Suzy yelled a few moments later. Though her aunt and uncle were never mean to her, they never understood Nichole fully, how she could waste so much of her thoughts and precious time on those "hideous and disgusting little vermin." They blamed it on the girls traumatic childhood and ignored it most of the time.
"I'm coming!" Nichole yelled back, slipping into her tight black jeans. She shed her short satiny nightgown and slipped on her close-fitting deep purple tank top, her mother's sapphire pendant glittering despite the fact that there was no light to touch it. Her lacey gloves were on next, and she sat down on her bed to slip into her knee high black boots.
As she finished the final lace, she leaned back on the bed. Her eyes travelled to the ceiling, and she lost herself for a moment in thoughts about her parents. "You're going to be a great pokemon trainer, Niki," her parents voice rang in her head, using the nickname only they had called her, "as soon as you're ten years old, you'll have a pokemon of your very own!" A mental image of a young blonde haired girl, only 2 years old, playing with a pokeball in her hands crossed Nichole's mind. Her mother was standing there, playing with her daughter's long hair lovingly, her father proudly standing beside his wife. A great pokemon trainer....
A knock on her door shot Nichole out of her reverie. "I'm coming!" she called, and she heard her aunt's impatient footsteps retreat down the hall and back down the stairs. Grumbling, Nichole sat up, pushing down on her fluffy white pillow to brace herself. But instead of feeling the soft texture of the pillow, her hand came down on a jagged edge. She moved her hand quickly, and spotted an envelope sitting there. She blinked, confused, and reached and picked it up, her hands trailing over the paper. Judging by the weight and the thickness of the paper, she knew it was made out of expensive parchment.
Her fingers traced the front of the envelope. The words "Nichole" were written in cursive golden-colored ink on the front. That's it. No last name. No address. Just "Nichole." Did her aunt and uncle leave it for her without telling her? No, she quickly thought, they always made some excuse to open her mail when she got any. Something this suspicious they definitely would have opened. Hearing her name called once more from down stairs, Nichole decided to pocket the letter and open it after she ate her breakfast, when she wouldn't have to rush.
After she managed to scarf down two waffles and a glass of milk, Nichole Fantom'e quickly scurried out the door before her aunt could ask her why she was in such a rush. She was thankfully able to tone out her aunt and uncle's discourteous conversation about how disgusting Uncle Jack's boss's Machamp is, and how the fighting type pokemon are starting to do more of the jobs then the workers were at the plant. When normally Nichole would mutter something in the nature of "Machamp's four arms are more attractive then your face is," she was so involved in her own thoughts about the letter that she just didn't hear the harsh comments.
Nichole fingered the letter that was buried in her coat pocket. The crisp morning air tried to bite through the thick long jacket, but the thick leather kept her nice and warm. She hurried to the safest haven she had during the day; the tiny library of Lavender town. She nodded a greeting to the librarian, and rushed to find herself a secluded table. She quickly tore through the thick envelope, her fingers stumbling excitedly to open up the letter that was concealed inside. It was made of the same thick material, and the same golden script met her eyes as she began to read.
Dear Nichole,
It is my pleasure to announce that you have been invited to take part in a once in a life time event. I have been watching you for a long time and you seem to be the perfect canidate for this competition. You may be wondering what this event is so let me explain: I own a very prestigious and wonderous island off the coast of the Johto Region. I do not take well to visitors but I have decided to invite eight new pokemon trainers to my island to par take in a special pokemon league challenge. Now this league challenge will be very different then the regular gym challenges you may know of in your region, there is quit a few differences and twist but that will all be explained once you arrive. When you do arrive you will be given a starter pokemon to begin your journey with.
Thank you for your time
A Friend.
Nichole looked at the fancy letter in complete disbelief. watching me? A perfect candidate? My own pokemon? She thought, rereading the letter a second and a third time. She had no idea what to think. Sure the idea of someone watching her was a creepy thought, but she had never told anyone that she wanted to be a trainer. She had no friends to talk pokemon with, and her aunt and uncle forbade her to become a trainer. So who in the world knew her deepest desire?
"Can I help you find something?" The librarian's voice scared Nichole out of her thoughts. She jumped nearly a foot, before realizing who was speaking.
"Oh, uh, no, no thanks," she said, standing up. She smiled at the woman before rushing out of the building, the letter in hand. She practically stumbled down the steps down to the street, her thoughts lost in the words of the letter.
A special pokemon league? she repeated the words in her head, how is this possible? Is it some kind of hoax? The thought of an adventure made her heart race with excitement. Though she always felt trapped with Uncle Jack and Aunt Suzy, she never looked at Lavender Town as a prison. She loved spending hours looking up the history of the small town, learning about the different sightings of the ghost pokemon. She spent every single night out at the small lake right on the outskirts of the city, in the small woods where the ghost pokemon would gather in the fog. But she longed to get away from her condescending relatives and their predijuice attitude towards her pokemon dreams.
"There you are!" Her aunt's shrill voice cut into her thoughts once more. Nichole had wandered all the way over to the Lavender Floral Shop without realizing it. Old habit maybe?
"I was wondering if you'd ever show up!" Her aunt stood there with a crooked smile on her face, her hands on her hips. It was a kind smile, and Nichole realized that if she took this adventure, she may never see her aunt again. She loved Suzy, despite her attitude towards her. But the luring thought of adventure was just too much for her. When she peered behind her bean pole of an aunt and saw all the flowers blooming in the greenhouse, she knew what she wanted to do.
"I'm not coming in to work today," she said, her voice calm.
"What? Why ever not! You're here right now aren't you?" her aunt's smile faded as she looked at her neice's serious face. Something about her features just didn't seem right.
"I… I forgot something at home." Nichole lied. She needed time to pack and get ready to go. She knew if she told her aunt the truth, Suzy would call Jack and together they would try and stop her. It would be better for all if she simply snuck away.
"Oh, well, hurry back then darlin'," her aunt said, her smile returning. She turned back to care for her precious flowers, leaving Nichole to rush back to the house.
"Dear Aunt Suzy and Uncle Jack,
You always told me that becoming a pokemon trainer was the wrong path for me, that I was destined to be something much better then that. But I was never your daughter. My parents wanted me to pursue my dreams of being a trainer. A great trainer, as they had told me. Though I am grateful that you two raised me as your own, and I will always be thankful for that, it's time for me to leave. I love you both, and I will see you soon one day. Good-bye.
Love always,
Nichole."
She finished scribbling out her farewell letter, her pack slung over her shoulder. She sighed, almost in sadness, as she laid it on the kitchen table. With a final look at the small house that had been her home for so long, Nichole headed out the back door and began to head for the woods where the small lake was. She paused as she reached it, her eyes sad as she realized she might not be back for a very long time.
"I will find out whoever you are," she said quietly, reffering to the strange ghost pokemon she had seen so long ago, "I will become the best ghost trainer there ever was. Better then Agatha of the elite four in Kanto. Better then Morty of Ecruteak City. Better then Fantina of the Sinnoh League." She smiled with the realization that it was time for her to begin her journey. She turned away from the lake with a final goodbye, and began to head through the woods, for the docks that were just up ahead.
"Where am I?" Nichole paused to lean against a tree. She had been stumbling around the forest for over an hour, and she had no idea what direction she was going in. She had been chased by a horde of beedrill, and had lost all sense of where she should be going.
As she closed her eyes while debating on whether or not she should try and climb a tree to see where she was exactly, she felt the hairs on her neck begin to stand on end. She opened her eyes to see that the area around her was covered in a thick and eerie fog. Being fascinated by ghosts and ghost pokemon made it nearly impossible to scare Nichole Fantom'e; but this was no ghost, nor an apparition of any kind. This was something other then the paranormal. She huddled close to the tree, her keen eyesight searching the thick miasma for a figure of some kind. Her good eyes finally captured what she thought was the culprit. A tall, strong built man in what looked like a captain's hat was approaching her from about 10 feet away. He towered over her; he had to be nearly 7ft tall, and had a tiny limp in his left leg when he walked. As he got closer to Nichole, she noticed he had a strange scar that went across his face in a diagonal line, and he had a beard that fell a few inches past his chin. His eyes were a near ferocious yellow color, like that of a felines, and his hair and beard was a deep red color.
The man walked right up to Nichole. He was wearing a long green trench coat, deep blue pants, and muck boots that came up to his knees. He cleared his throat like he was about to speak. Nichole firmly stood her ground, her hand reaching into her back pocket to grip the tiny swiss army knife she always had with her, just in case.
"You must be Nichole," he said. His voice had a twinge of an irish accent. "I've been searching for you. I'm here to take you to the island. now come on we haven't much time before sun sets." He beckoned with a long finger for her to follow.
Nichole looked at him curiously. "How did you know where to find me?" she asked, but the man simply turned and walked away. Nichole rushed after him. After all, what could be harmful about an old irish sailor with a limp?
The tall burly man led her all the way to the docks on the other side of the forest. Nichole came to find that they really weren't that far from where she was. He led her to a small boat tied to the dock, and stepped back, motioning for her to step on board first. Nichole stepped carefully onto the wobbly deck. She had been on a boat once as a small child, and never developed "sea legs."
The man stepped on board behind her. "Now i'm sorry about this next part," he said, his irish accent leaking through his words once more, "but it's the only way to get you to the island without knowing how to get there." Confused, Nichole opened her mouth to get a further explanation. But before she could get the words out, she felt very light headed. Her mind became cloudy and her eyes began to droop, and she slowly felt her body become weak. Her legs wobbled, and in a brief second, her mind faded and her body collapsed.
