Chapter 1

The Balance

A scream disrupted the atmosphere of the dark Rustboro City apartment. Dainty footsteps were heard, and the light was switched on. A girl with short, blonde hair and deep blue eyes looked upon her twin sister. The girl was panting, and her long hair- the same hue as her sister's- was drenched in cold sweat.

She walked to her sister's side, sitting down and straightening out her nightgown. She smiled at her sister.

"Shh, it's alright now, Sabella. What happened?" The short haired twin asked.

The long haired twin shook her head, smoothing the wrinkles out of her pajama top and pushing down her pajama bottoms that had begun to ride up on her legs. "I… I knew what was happening, yet I didn't see… It was pouring rain, but it was searing hot at the same time! The ground was cracking, and the waves were smashing down on the shore, but all I really saw was darkness… Oh, Sabrina…" The twins embraced each other, and Sabrina patted Sabella's hair.

"It's alright, Sabella. Was that all?" She asked.

Sabella forcefully shook her head, "No, it was so frightening… I heard sounds, sounds that seemed to be miles away but right in front of me all at the same time, surrounding me, choking me… Sounds of agony, a piercing agony mixed with rage, a primordial rage that threatened to consume me…"

Sabrina began to braid her sister's hair, meticulously arranging the follicles together. Sabella smacked her hand away, making Sabrina giggle a bit. "Alright, alright. Was that all, Sabella?"

"No, no… Above all the sounds, over the crashing waves and heaving earth, all I could hear was this laughing. It was like a triumphant laugh, as if someone had meant for this to happen. It shook me to the core." Sabella whispered.

"It's alright, Sabella. Hey, remember when we were seven and mom used to sing us that song to help us go to sleep?" Sabrina asked.

Sabella nodded, and cleared her throat.

Blue orb of the continents

Red orb of the sea,

Yellow orb of the atmosphere

Works to calm all three

When the ground begins to burst

And the ocean breaks its shores

The sky will fall upon the earth

To bring the world to peace

From the times of ancients

To the days still yet to come

This balance, eternal

Withstands the test of time

And if one tries to break this balance,

And refuses to repent,

The entire world must be punished

And this great land will end.

But if a true spirit

Should atone with her life

Earth will quiet

Seas will calm

And the relics will rise from below

To praise the heroic souls.

Sabella stopped singing, placing her head between her legs, "I don't want to go to school…"

"Really, Sabella? Get up; you have students to take care of!" Sabrina laughed.

"For the feminine twin, you're really pushy, Bree." Sabella groaned.

"For the tomboyish twin, you're really whiny, Bell!" Sabrina retorted, mocking her sister's tone.

Sabella picked up her pillow, smacking her sister playfully, "Whatever, sis!"

A Kadabra peeked through the door, broadcasting a groggy telepathic message, "Sabella, you realize you scream like a banshee? I was meditating, for crying out loud!"

Sabella registered the message, and laughed, "Meditating? So, is that Kadabra for nodding off in the lotus position? You snore like a foghorn, Medici!"

Medici's yellow face flushed to an ivory color, and he broadcasted in a flustered mind-voice, "I do not snore! H-how would you even know that?"

Sabella threw herself back onto the sheets laughing, "Because this isn't the first night I've awoken abruptly! Face it, Meddy, you snore. ~Meddy is a snorer, Meddy is a snorer!~"

Medici turned around, harrumphing, "I'm going to get breakfast. Your bug is still sleeping, Sabella. Wake him up when you think he won't murder you for it."

Sabella scoffed, "How dare you call Blade a bug! It doesn't matter that he is a bug-type Pokémon, I won't have him ranked among those arthropod-esque demons!"

Since she'd had a bad encounter with a large group of agitated Heracross, poor Sabella had been paralyzed with fear at any bug Pokémon save her own Scyther, Blade. Medici just waved his hand in a 'whatever you say' gesture.

"Your Pokémon is such a smarty-pants, Sabrina. How you put up with him is beyond me." Sabella sighed.

Sabrina shrugged, then turned to the alarm clock. Her eyes widened, and she nearly jumped to the ceiling.

"Sabella, it's eight o' clock! Class starts at nine, and we're not even ready! Do you have your lesson plans? Oh, where did I put my papers? I was planning on waking up early to grade some of my tests, but we slept right through the alarm! AAAAH!" Sabrina spoke a mile a minute.

Sabella stood up, swiftly changing into a comfortable T-shirt and a well-fitting pair of jeans. Sabrina took considerably longer to put on leggings and a blue dress. At eight-forty, they were finally ready.

"Hurry up, Bell! We can't be late! I already missed the Special Attack department meeting; I can't afford to miss class too!" Sabrina urged.

Sabella laughed, taking the keys to the car and heading out the door. She entered the small vehicle, a Devon S-200XY hybrid. The automobile was about the size of a closet, but it was affordable and it got you from point A to point B.

Sabella pulled out of the complex, and took the turn that led to the school. She stopped at a red light, and pulled down the convertible hood. She jumped as the car to their left honked its horn. She turned to see a group of guys in a Silph Platinum Roadster, a sports car with a powerful compact J-12 engine. Her eyes flicked to the red light.

Sabrina began to shake her head, "Bell? C'mon, Bell, don't get started."

Sabella revved up the engine.

Sabrina started panting. Her sister was known for her wild antics on the city streets.

"Bell, this won't end well."

The timer on the crosswalk that spanned the main street began to tick down from twenty.

"Bell, we can't get a ticket just before school!"

Nineteen…

"Think it over, Bell!"

Sabella began to lick her lips, the way she did when she was about to do something and you couldn't stop her from doing it.

Fifteen…

"I have to, Bree. These guys are asking for it."

Twelve…

"Bell, we're in a hybrid car, and they've got an aerodynamic titan! What do you expect to give them?"

Five…

Sabrina waited with bated breath.

Four…

"They don't know what I put in this baby. Neither do you, for that matter."

Two…

One…

The light turned green.

"Sabella! I JUST DID MY HAIR!" Sabrina shouted.

To no avail. Sabella floored the gas, and the little closet of a car shot off like a bullet, leaving the sports car in the dust and throwing Sabrina's head deep into the headrest. The speedometer read eighty… ninety… one hundred…

"Oh, look, we're here!" Sabella shouted over the roaring wind. Not losing an MPH of speed, she skidded into the parking lot. The car bellowing through the area, she jerked the steering wheel, performing a long power slide into a perfect parallel park, stopping just as she reached the area.

"Bell, our parking spot is over with the other teachers' spots." Sabrina gasped.

Sabella smiled as if she were a cherub, "I know. But you don't get to tear apart stereotypes every day, you catch me?"

Sabrina sighed, putting her fingers to her face, "Just get us to our parking spots without putting the needle over fifty, okay?"

"Oh, you're no fun." Sabella humphed, sticking her lip out in a childish pouty face. Sabrina gave her a blank stare.

Sabella laughed, "Alright Señora speed bump. Jeez, I wasn't even milking it." Sabella pulled out of the tight area, and Sabrina noticed that the needle stayed right on fifty. Sabrina rolled her eyes as they entered their parking space.

Sabrina and Sabella parted ways, Sabrina towards the J-wing, where most Special Attack classes were located.

Some of Sabrina's students were waiting at the door. She gave them a warm smile, opening the door, "Your weekend was enjoyable, I presume? Welcome back, everyone."

Tori, her most strong-spirited student, scoffed, "What do we look like, ten year olds? C'mon, Ms. Platinum, we're all adults here."

Sabrina smiled, heading towards her desk. She waited for her students to settle in. "Alright, if you'll turn your attention to what Ms. Marina has just done. She used the move Taunt, which means that at this point, I can use nothing but damaging moves."

The class laughed aloud, and Tori flushed.

"Can anyone tell me what a trainer would do at this point in battle?" She asked.

A hand raised, and Sabrina gestured for the student to speak.

"Well, it's really obvious. You'd attack them!" Garrett Seward replied.

Sabrina nodded, smiling at him, "How fast do you want your Pokémon to faint?"

Garrett stuttered, "What?"

Sabrina laughed, "Think about this. The battle has just begun. In any real battle, this is not the time for offense just yet. At this point, you must set up, and for that, you cannot be disallowed the use of changing moves. Now, can someone give me the name of a changing move that is useful for a Special Attack oriented Pokémon?"

Sarah Mcclaine raised her hand, "Ma'am; that would be Calm Mind!"

Sabrina nodded, "Very good, Sarah. Can you name any Pokémon for whom the move Calm Mind would be useful? Mister Sprout?"

Tristan Sprout lifted his head up from his desk, and gave a groggy, "Whrbl?"

Sabrina raised her hands up theatrically, "Ah! Tristan just used a Confusion attack!"

The class started laughing uncontrollably, bringing a smile to Sabrina's face. "I actually have with me a very powerful Special Attacking Pokémon. He's been with me since the beginning, in fact, he hatched from his egg at the very moment I was born."

"What a load of Tauros dung…" Someone whispered. Sabella smiled at the class, taking out Medici's Poke Ball. "Medici, class time!"

The Kadabra came out of his Poke Ball, sweeping the class room with his stare. He broadcasted telepathically to the entire class. "Would whoever said that wholesome phrase please identify themselves?"

The class went silent. Medici looked about the room again. His eyes turned blue, and his spoon bent. He lifted up his hand, and a student was levitated out of their seat. Sabrina approached the boy, and Medici loosened his psychic grip.

"Gordon Hayes. The move you just experienced was Psychic. Had Medici wanted to, he could have… Well, he could have done anything at all. Tell me, what kind of move is Psychic?" Sabrina said softly.

Gordon gulped, "A Special Attack, ma'am?"

"Is that a question or an answer, Gordon?"

"A-an answer, ma'am." Gordon said hurriedly.

Sabrina looked at him straight in the face, not breaking eye contact for a whole minute.

She took in a deep breath, then, "BOO!"

Gordon jumped up, hitting his legs on the wooden desk.

Sabrina laughed, walking back to the front of the room. "Alright. Now, open your books to chapter ten."

The students did so, and then looked up to await her instructions.

"Could you tell me what you see on chapter ten?" Sabrina asked, and awaited her answer. A student raised her hand.

"Yes, Tania?" Sabrina pointed to the girl .

"It's a list of powerful Special Attack oriented Pokémon." Tania answered.

"Now, among all of them, who is the strongest?" Sabrina asked.

Tania looked at the list, "Deoxys-A forme has the highest, with a base Special Attack stat of 180."

"Wrong." Sabrina stated. "Tell me, who is the strongest?"

Tania looked back at the list, then back up at Sabrina, confused. "I don't see any statistically stronger Pokémon on the list."

"But you're forgetting a key factor, Tania!" Sabrina exclaimed.

"I don't know what you want me to find!" Tania shouted, standing halfway in her seat. She looked about, and then settled back down, panting.

"Now I used Taunt, forcing Tania to use her only attack move, Hyper Voice." Sabrina whispered. The class didn't laugh this time.

She looked across the room, at all the students. "The key to a powerful Special Attack Pokémon- to any Pokémon- is a trainer with a good heart and a careful mind. If Pokémon were the only variables necessary for battles, we wouldn't need the League. We'd just have people forcing Pokémon to battle to the death in back alleys." Sabrina's face was somber, "Which brings us to another topic. When you graduate from this school and take your journeys, whether you wish to become a Gym Leader, or a member of the Elite Four, or even a Champion or Master, you may come upon certain people…"

Sabrina collected herself, "What I mean to say is, there are some humans in this world that see Pokémon differently than the way you and I do. To these people- no, these beasts disguised as men- Pokémon are not friends. Pokémon are not meant to be happy, or to grow strong through the love of a real Trainer, no. To them, Pokémon are instruments of their will. To them, you can just take a Pokémon, force it to come with you, break them, and then throw them out into the darkness to be replaced by another similarly-fated poor being. Should you meet these people…"

Sabrina gave her students a determined smile, "Show them how well the Rustboro School taught you!"

The class went silent, but then Tori stood out of her seat. She put her hands together, and started clapping. The other students followed suit, smiling and shaking their heads.

Sabrina did a small curtsy, and then gestured for the students to sit back down. They did so, and she smiled warmly at all of them.

She turned to Tori, "Thank you, very much."

Sabrina went to her desk, pulling out a Poke Ball from a number of them.

"You all know what this is." Sabrina said. All the students nodded.

"Inside this Poke Ball is a very powerful Special Attack Pokémon, Porygon-Z. Its base Special Attack is One thirty-five, definitely higher than that of my Kadabra, Medici. Tori, will you come up to the front, and battle me with this Pokémon?" Sabrina held out the Poke Ball.

Tori took it, sending out the Pokémon inside. "Porrry!"

"Porygon-Z's attacks are Conversion-2, Encore, Calm Mind, and Psybeam." Sabrina said.

Tori smiled, knowing what to do. A small battlefield came up from the ground, and Sabrina and Tori took opposite sides. A small robot with two flags for arms came up with the field. "This battle will commence, with Teacher Sabrina as the Red side and Challenger Tori as green. Battle, begin!"

Sabrina did a small pirouette, sending Medici into battle with flair, "Medici! Use Charge Beam!"

Medici's body glowed with a yellow aura, and then a powerful arc of lightning shot from Medici's hand, hitting Porygon-Z directly.

"That attack does fifty damage per hit. I've trained Medici thoroughly, allowing his Special Attack stat to be a whopping one hundred and eighty-nine, the highest that a level fifty Kadabra can reach thanks to his beneficial modest nature. He won't go down easily." Sabrina said.

"But in the end, it's about the trainer, right? Encore, Porygon-Z!" Tori retorted.

Porygon-Z let out a fanfare, making Medici's face flush. Without thinking, Medici used Charge Beam again.

"Now, Porygon-Z! Conversion 2!" Porygon-Z blurred out, then came back into view. Cosmetically, he was exactly the same, but Sabrina knew that he was now a Ground Type Pokemon.

Sabrina recalled Medici, "And that's checkmate. Well done, Tori, well done!"

Tori smiled, "Thank you, Ms. Platinum!"

Sabrina turned to the class, "Let's all hear a round of applause for Tori, okay?"

The class started clapping, performing another standing ovation. Tori blushed, giving a small bow. "Thanks, everyone." She whispered, a strong spirit turned timid at the sight of this honor. The bell rang.

"That'll be all for today, class. Tomorrow, I want all of you to have that list in the book copied down for homework."

As all the students left class, Sabella walked in.

Sabrina started to pack her things. Her next class wasn't happening for three hours.

"How'd that demonstration battle you were planning go?"

"It was just as I'd expected. She used all the moves I had predicted, and even gave a nice opening statement to help signify what I was trying to teach the class!" Sabrina and Sabella laughed together.

They were two thirty year old twins, doing what they loved the way they loved to do it. In their minds, they were living the life. But even the greatest of psychics would shudder to foretell the future that now approached…

Not bad for a first chapter! I looked back on this, and realized two things. One: The lullaby is crappy. If ANYONE thinks they could do a better job without changing the entire thing is likely to PM me with a better one. Two: Sabrina is kind of mean in this chapter. That is not going to be changed, but she was originally an innocent 11 year old girl. How things changed...