Okay! First off, thank you for clicking on my fic. - I know that might sound cheap or something but, hey! There might be a few that recognize this story from ThePokeMasters, and they'd be right, 'cause I posted it on there too a long while back. This is, of course, an original trainer fic so:

I don't own Pokemon, or any of the people and monsters from the game. However, the original characters I do have are mine. So don't sue me! (I wonder if anyone who doesn't say this DOES get sued?)

The Glass Half Full

Ch.1 Prelude to A Journey

Every legend has a beginning. And every living being has a beginning as well. Life is such a precious thing; and yet it is so easy to change the course of one's life. One moment is enough to change it. One decision, one move, can be detrimental or beneficial depending on the consequence.

It would be nice if all of the decisions of our lives were made by ourselves; however, at the very beginning of your life, your entire well-being is in the hands of your parents…

"Can you sense them?"

"No. I think we are safe for now."

"Good…."

A sigh of relief was breathed in the darkness around the two. The woman it had come from was bent over, clutching a small baby wrapped in a light red blanket. She looked exhausted, sweaty, and her breathing was raspy. Her hair was slightly dishelved, but in her eyes was the glimmer of hope and happiness that resided in her heart. For if there were any chance of her baby escaping; nothing else would matter to her.

The other voice had come from a large creature floating soundlessly next to the mother. It was a bird-like shape, and had glowing deep blue eyes. Most of the front of its body was a powdery white color, while the back end of it was a sea green color, though you could hardly tell in the dark. The bird looked over to the mother.

"Alright, we can move," he said, showing her the way out with his claw-like hand.

The two began to crawl out of a small hole. They had been hiding in a tiny cave-like den in the ground to escape their pursuers. Dirt brushed all over the two as they emerged into the twilight. Night was almost upon them, and they only had a little ways to go.

"Here, climb up on me and we can fly the rest of the way. I don't want our daughter to lose her mother to exhaustion…," said the bird.

The woman slowly climbed onto the bird's back; and with one arm on the bird, and one arm on the baby, breathed a quiet, "Ready…."

Together the two flew onward through the early evening's sky. Onward and onward, until a small town was visible on the horizon. The bird-like creature slowly descended onto the front lawn of a small farm. There were a few sleeping cow pokemon like Miltank and Tauros in the fields surrounding them; obviously belonging to the person who owned the farm. A blinding light came suddenly from the bird standing next to the mother, and after a few seconds, the light faded, showing a man standing where the bird once floated.

"Let's go in," he said, in the same tone as the bird's voice had been.

They walked up to the door and reached for the knob when suddenly another light shone on them. A helicopter had spotted the two fugitives flying in the area, yet it was unsure of their exact location. They knew that the searchlight would most certainly be accompanied by at least a handful of men and several powerful pokemon. The two parents looked to each other.

"What can we do!" whispered the woman frightfully.

"Leave her here. I notified mother in advance, so when she finds her, then she will know what to do," the man said, his head suddenly turning to the helicopter above.

The mother's eyes were streaming with fresh tears, and yet she knew there was no other way. Gently she placed the baby inside a small shrub on the porch; the location they all had agreed upon. Blowing a kiss to the now hidden baby, she turned to the man.

Together, they both swiftly ran off into the growing darkness of the night, and when they had reached a safe distance away from the baby and the farm, a blinding light could be seen from a distance. And after it had subsided, two large bird-like creatures took to the air. Their mission; get everyone away from their baby.

---

The warm sunlight filtered down through a dusty old window. The light seen coming through it had the appearance of a light rain; there was so much dust inside. A knocking noise suddenly sounded, and a small wooden slab popped up out of the floor.

"Ow…," said a girl's voice. It sounded soft and small; like a scared animal.

The girl blinked as her head rose above the hole she was now emerging from; the combination of dust and sunlight made her sneeze. Apparently she was in an attic. There were boxes and boxes of various sizes and conditions all around her. Covered in both dust and rat pokemon droppings, the boxes sat silently, looking as if they had been there for a thousand years. Spider webs that were no longer in use were hanging from every nook and cranny. Kayla spied a massive one that looked as if it could have been a suitable Ariados house at one time.

"Kayla? Are you okay?" inquired a voice from inside the house. It was a voice of an old woman, and yet it still sounded so vibrant and strong.

"Yes, I'm fine Grama," replied Kayla. She now stepped far into the sunlight in order to peer out of the dirty window and observe the street below. The rays of light shone on her face. It was clear that Kayla was in her early teens; her face still had that childish look to it. Her crimson hair seemed to shimmer in the sunlight, and her deep blue eyes reflected the clear, blue sky she was now looking at.

An old woman now poked her head out of the attic hole.

"Kayla! Hurry up and find those pictures child! It's so cold up here you could catch your death within five minutes!" she said sternly. The wrinkles on her face all contorting into a mixed look of concern and annoyance.

Kayla turned around swiftly, "Oh I'm sorry; I just got carried away with looking at the beautiful sky today. I won't be much longer."

Kayla's grandmother then creeped back down to the house, and Kayla began to search through the boxes. There were so many, and some weren't even marked on the sides. Kayla didn't really understand why her grandmother even wanted her to search for these pictures. She didn't even know what these pictures were supposed to be of. How was she to know which ones were the ones? However, since Kayla always did what she was told, she just kept blindly looking through box after box.

After about ten minutes, and countless boxes, she finally stumbled upon a particularly old box. It was sitting slightly away from the others, and looked especially dirty. The small ray of dusty sunlight shinning on it gave an almost ominous feel to it.

Kayla slowly approached the box, and carefully opened it. Inside were lots of old items. A small sketchbook of some kind; an old notepad; and a golden seal that looked like a huge coin. Kayla picked it up for a moment, feeling the cold metal and looking at the embossed birds on the front. She then went to place it back in the box when she noticed that under the large coin were several packs of pictures!

"Grama! I think I found them!" she called out loudly. She picked up the packs of pictures, and stealing one more glance back at the coin, went down to the house to show her grandmother.

When she had finally arrived in the living room, her grandmother looked up at her and smiled. "So, did you find the pictures?" she asked.

"Yes, here they are. But, why did you need them?" Kayla asked curiously.

"I wanted to show you pictures of your parents," her grandmother said, the tone in her voice no different.

"What? My parents? Butbut why now? I don't…."

The old woman smiled, "I needed to wait until you were older; until you could understand. Now sit down, and I'll tell you everything I know about your parents."

Kayla sat down, confused, and a bit concerned with what she might hear. Her grandmother had mentioned her parents only a few times before.

Once when she was five years old, she had asked her grandmother why she didn't have a mommy and daddy. Her grandmother's answer was always to brush it off somehow, and avoid the subject by telling Kayla that her parents had loved her very much, and that they saved Kayla's life by sacrificing themselves. Kayla never really understood it, and hardly ever thought of it now. What did it matter as long as her life was a happy one?

"Kayla, I don't know everything about your parents' death," said her grandmother truthfully, "I know that they are indeed dead, and that it may or may not have been an accident; but I know for sure that they were fugitives…"

"Fugitives?" repeated Kayla, this was very odd; who would her parents be running from?

"Yes, they were running from someone, but I'm not sure who. They never told me much, except for the fact that they were afraid for your life. There was some reason that they were especially afraid for you. I don't know why; perhaps it was just parenting instincts, but they wanted me to take care of you," she paused, watching Kayla's face carefully. She really wanted Kayla to take this well, and was sincerely hoping that Kayla wouldn't get too angry over all of this.

"My… parents wanted you to take care of me? But why couldn't they just stay here with us? I don't understand. If I could stay here safely, then why couldn't they do the same?" Kayla said, her mind growing more curious on the subject.

"I honestly don't know Kayla, but I think it's safe to assume that would only do such a thing if they really had to. They probably thought that it would be easier for whomever was after them to spot you if they were always at your side…"

"But why would someone want… me?" asked Kayla, feeling a bit scared.

Her grandmother sighed a heavy sigh, "…I don't know. They never told me. However, since no one has come looking for you over all these years, I think it's safe to say that they've either given up, or aren't around anymore."

Kayla thought about this for a moment. Someone after her? Surely the people who had wanted her were long gone by now; or, like Grama had said, they would have already come looking for her. Kayla tried to control the small bit of fear she was now feeling in her stomach…

"Anyway Kayla, after a lot of letters and arguing over them, I had agreed to take you and raise you for them. So they dropped you off one night while I was asleep…," she paused, tears were now collecting in her eyes, "That was the last I heard of them…."

"Grama… I…," Kayla began, but soon realized she had no idea what to say.

"Your parents were very decent people; I could never imagine them breaking some sort of law… They were very bright, outgoing young people. Believe it or not I even loved your mother as if she were my daughter," she looked at the pile of old pictures that Kayla had brought, and slowly flipped open the flap of one of the covers. There she could see a picture of Kayla's father and mother, both right after they had gotten married, and the smiles on their faces. She smiled, "They were both just so full of love and life; and they told me to make sure that you turned out the same way."

Kayla blushed a bit. She was not a very outgoing person at all… Her whole life she had been the shyest of all the kids around her age. She had never played with the other children unless they went out of their way to want to play with her. When she spoke to strangers, it was politely and so quiet you could barely hear what she had said. When a problem or conflict would arise with someone else, she always immediately gave in. And by the look on her grandmother's face, she knew it too.

"Kayla, I don't want you to grow up and get used by other people," her grandmother said, her stern tone of voice gaining in pitch, "I love your kindhearted personality, but you need to get some backbone. I'm afraid that if you get mixed up with the wrong people, you might end up getting hurt. I know we've talked about this sort of thing before, and I know that this day has already been very stressful for you, but I'd like to suggest something."

Kayla stared at her wondering what it was her grandmother was about to suggest.

"You're father was your age when he left home to go on a pokemon journey, and when he came back, he was the most fun-loving person there ever was. It seemed as if his whole personality had changed. For the better of course, and I just know that it would be so beneficial for you if you left for a while too…."

"What! But Grama… I… what if…?" Kayla stammered, that fear-like sensation starting up in her stomach again. It was just so much to handle at once. Her parent's death… and now her leaving?

The old woman stood up, "Now you listen up Kayla; I know you might not think it such a good idea, but I just know you'll be fine. Soon you'll gain some self-confidence, and maybe meet some friends you can relate to. Which is why I bought this for you…"

She held out a small laminated card. On the front it said in large, loopy letters, "Pokemon License". Kayla blinked at the card. She had always secretly wanted a pokemon friend to talk to, but this…

"You can pick your starter Pokemon tomorrow," said her grandmother, "I think Professor Oak is also giving pokemon to those three other boys that live down the street a ways. At least that's what they told me when I got it for you. Here, take it."

Kayla really felt scared now. She had always lived here in her grandmother's house, in this small town. Now she was being forced to go out into much bigger cities, all alone…

She stared back at the license and took it slowly from her grandmother's hand. "Okay…," she conceded, although she didn't look like it was 'okay'.

Her grandmother smiled. "That's why you need to go my child," she said, referring to Kayla's quick, but reluctant, response.

"I guess so…," said Kayla, feeling hopelessly stuck in this awful spot. She turned to the pictures on the couch cushions. "Can we look at some pictures of my parents?" asked Kayla, desperate to get her mind off of the task ahead of her.

"Sure, but in a little while, you must get ready," said her grandmother as she picked up the post-wedding pictures.

"Okay…," said Kayla.

A/N: Whew! The first chapter is done! Well, what'dya think? Likes, dislikes, anything? I would say flames are welcome, but I've seen too many others make THAT mistake… Anywhoo, the next chapter will see Kayla meeting new people, and obtaining her first pokemon, so stick around if ya' want to. See you!