City of Rainbow Colors

Celadon City – City of Rainbow Colors

Jeremy Crandall sighed in relief as he read the sign. The fifteen-year-old trainer was hungry, tired, and nearly out of money, but he had finally made it to Celadon City. From what he could see, the city seemed to have much more spirit than his home, the fast-paced Castelia City in Unova. However, he knew that it was not the time for sight-seeing. Pulling out the wad of paper in his pocket, Jeremy smoothed it out and carefully read the address that was scribbled onto it.

"592 Olivestone Drive…" Jeremy read to himself.

He cursed himself for not having a phone as he searched for a map or a computer. Fortunately, he was able to find both inside a nearby Pokémon Center. According to the map, he was still at least twenty-five minutes away from his intended destination. Quickly printing out the directions, Jeremy made his way back outside and tossed a poké ball in the air.

Sawsbuck materialized before taking a deep, introspective look at his surroundings as he always did whenever they were in a new place. It was autumn and the red and brown leaves on Sawsbuck's antlers stood out amongst the mostly pale green hue of the city. Jeremy noticed many curious stares from the citizens and it was obvious that it was not often that they saw a Pokémon from Unova.

"Sorry I had to keep you in the ball so long," Jeremy said. "You're a bit too big for them to allow you on the plane or the bus."

Sawsbuck simply gave him a nod of understanding as his trainer climbed aboard. Jeremy wondered if Sawsbuck had adopted his serious attitude from him, if it was something that was standard for his species, or a mixture of both. He decided not to think about it for too long since he had wasted enough time as it was.

"Alright, we need to head south first…"

As the trainer and Pokémon duo made their way towards their destination, Jeremy found himself thinking about everything that had happened in the past few weeks and how rapidly his entire life had been altered. It did not take long to come to the realization that things had started spiraling out of control long before, but Jeremy was furious at himself about the fact that it took something drastic happening to finally understand that. It was too little and much too late in his mind. He knew that whatever happened from here on out was completely up to chance.

After twenty minutes of riding, Jeremy double-checked the directions to see if they were heading down the correct path. Judging by their surroundings, they were definitely in an upper class neighborhood. If Jeremy did not feel out of place before, he certainly did now. Still, he continued on until he arrived at a large light beige house surrounded by trees. It was a bit secluded from the other homes in the neighborhood, as well as a fair bit larger.

"I guess this is the place…" Jeremy told Sawsbuck. "Well we're here now. No point in being nervous."

They entered the large yard and followed the concrete pathway until he reached the black door. Taking a deep breath, he rang the doorbell and waited for someone to answer. After a few seconds, the door slowly began to open and Jeremy found himself face to face with a man who he presumed to be the owner of the home. The man was tall with a solid, muscular build that was noticeable even with the business suit that he was wearing. He had short, dark brown hair that Jeremy noticed was sprinkled with one or two streaks of gray. However, what really caught him were the man's eyes. They were the same steel blue that Jeremy had seen in his own reflection his entire life.

"May I help you?" the man asked.

"My name is Jeremy Crandall…" Jeremy introduced himself as calmly as he could. He managed to keep his composure, but his outwardly display did not match the spiraling emotions that he was feeling on the inside. "Are you...Flynn Bradsher?"

"That would be me," the man answered. "Have we met before?"

"We've never met," Jeremy told him as he opened the zipper on his small backpack. He retrieved an old photo and held it up. "Does the woman in this picture look familiar to you?"

The woman in the photo had dark hair and eyes with ivory skin. There was nothing that particularly stood out about her, save for her smile. Flynn stared at the photo for a few moments as he stroked his chin. Jeremy could tell that his memory was slowly being jogged.

"Stella…" Flynn said quietly before looking at Jeremy. "Stella…Crandall…Please, come in…"

After recalling Sawsbuck to his poké ball, Jeremy followed Flynn into the house and was nearly floored by what he saw. The inside was even more impressive than the outside. Judging by the sheer size of the living room, Jeremy was sure that it could fit his entire apartment back home in Unova. The floors were dark marble, the obviously expensive furniture was untarnished and neatly arranged, and the ivory walls were adorned with many priceless works of Pokémon art.

"I feel like this is a much more appropriate place to talk," Flynn said. "Please, take a seat."

Jeremy found a seat on the nice couch in front of the glass table. He found himself longing for the comfort of the old worn out couch that he had become accustomed to sleeping on at home. Flynn settled in the chair still gazing at the photo of the woman.

"So, uh," Jeremy spoke up. "I guess you've figured out by now that I'm Stella Crandall's son."

Flynn nodded his head and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, the door to the house opened and someone entered the house. Jeremy looked towards the door and saw that it was a young man. He appeared to be about Jeremy's age and the first thing he noticed about him was how much he resembled Flynn. He was tall with an athletic build that made him look slightly slimmer than the older man, yet no less handsome. His hair was copper colored and his eyes were a jade green, but aside from these notable differences, he looked identical to Flynn. Following in behind him was a Ninetales that had to be the size of Sawsbuck, if not bigger.

"Sorry it took so long to get here, Dad," the young man said. "Some girl from Saffron and her bizarre friend were protesting outside the department store. It was something about testing human products on Pokémon. She was a pretty good talker though and made some really good points. It helped that she was pretty cute too."

"Just remember that her message is more important than what she looks like, Austin," Flynn reminded him. "Anyway, come here. I want you to meet this young man."

The newcomer, Austin, walked into the living room and looked at Jeremy with a puzzled expression on his face. Jeremy could tell that he had not even noticed him until Flynn had said something.

"Jeremy," Flynn continued. "This is my son, Austin. Austin, this is Jeremy Crandall. His mother is…an old friend of mine."

"Nice to meet you," Austin said before holding out his hand.

The two teenagers shook hands before Austin took a seat on the second couch, Ninetales curling up beside him. Jeremy did not know if he was comfortable continuing the conversation with another person in the room, but it was a small inconvenience compared to what he had gone through in order to make it this far.

"So, how has your mother been?" Flynn asked Jeremy. "I only knew Stella for a short time, but from what I can remember, she was quite a spirited woman."

Jeremy took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He knew that he had to will himself to answer the question, but it was one of the most difficult things that he could have imagined doing. Nevertheless, he owed it to his mother to complete his mission.

"She's…dead…" he said quietly. He looked up at the stunned face of Flynn before carrying on, trying his hardest to keep himself from trembling. "She was murdered a few weeks ago. The police thought that it was just a burglary gone wrong and I did too…until I started looking through her things."

He paused momentarily in order to allow Flynn to take in all of the information. Even Austin seemed to be paying close attention to Jeremy's story of the events that led him to Celadon. He opened the bag beneath his feet and retrieved a tattered brown book.

"The most important thing I found was this. I started reading through my mother's old journals and I think there was a reason she was killed. There were things about her in that journal that I never even knew about. It was like I was reading about a whole different person. I know it might sound kind of crazy, but whoever killed her made sure to kill all of her Pokémon too. It's like she knew something that she wasn't supposed to know and whatever information that she had absolutely couldn't be passed on. I couldn't figure out much before I had to leave Unova, so I was hoping you can help me find out what actually happened that night."

"My condolences on the passing of your mother," Flynn said. "I too lost my mother at a young age, so I know the pain of losing a parent. I'm willing to help you however I can, but to be honest, I am curious as to why you decided to come here."

Jeremy stood up and handed Flynn the journal before taking a seat once more. There was absolutely nothing that he could think to alleviate the discomfort that his next few words were bound to have. Still, he felt that if he managed to get through the first part then this should not be much of an issue in comparison.

"My mother met you about seventeen years ago," Jeremy began explaining as Flynn flipped through the journal. "The journal said that you were only in Unova for a few weeks, but there are dozens of pages about you. After reading the dates and doing some math…"

"No…way…" Austin muttered, eyes widened at the implication. It was the first thing he had said since sitting down.

"I…" Jeremy paused and took a deep breath. "I think you might be my father…"

"No way!" Austin repeated, this time shouting as he jumped up from his seat. "Dad, there's no way you can believe this guy. Some random kid all the way from Unova just pops up at the front door with a story that sounds like something from a mystery novel and then claims to be your child. Come on, I bet he's just trying to scam you out of some money."

"Austin, you need to calm down," Flynn told him sternly. "Now."

"I'm just looking out for you," Austin defended himself, being sure to lower his tone. "You taught me not to take anything at face value."

"Listen, son," Flynn started. "During one of my many separations from your mother, I spent some time in Unova doing some legal work for my father. That is where I met Stella. We…um…spent a lot of time together. I had been under a lot of stress and she helped me through it. I didn't know that your mother was already pregnant until after I went to Unova, but the second I found out, I was on a plane back to Kanto."

"I still say that we at least need a blood test before you start getting involved in some murder case," Austin remarked. "If this guy is your son, he might be trying to steal my inheritance." His father gave him a sharp look and Austin responded by letting out a sigh and averting his gaze. "Oh, come on, Dad, you know I was just joking about that last part."

Jeremy thought that it was past time he said something. The last thing he needed was more tension on top of everything that was going on.

"Look," he said. "I'm not here for any money and I'm definitely not here to steal anyone's inheritance. I just came here for help. There was no one I could turn to in Unova, so this was a longshot."

"How about we discuss everything over dinner?" Flynn suggested after checking his watch. "You look like you haven't had a good meal in a while, Jeremy. Austin, I think I'll order from Cloyster Cuisine. I know that's your favorite restaurant."

"If you're trying to butter me up, you're going to have to do more than that, old man," Austin said with a slight grin.

Jeremy wanted to decline the offer for dinner, if only because he did not want to impose. However, it was nearly impossible for him to deny how hungry he was. He figured he would find a way to repay the man later. Flynn retrieved his cell phone and made his way into the kitchen, leaving the two teenagers alone. Jeremy could definitely feel the tension, but he knew that it was unrealistic to expect everything to go smoothly.

"Okay, 'little bro'…" Austin said to Jeremy in a mocking tone as he retrieved a poké ball from his waist. "If you're going to be a member of this family, you better know how to battle. Everyone in my dad's family was an accomplished trainer at one point in time. Let's go outside to the back and see what you're made of…"

Jeremy did not know what compelled him to listen to Austin, but he found himself following the other boy outside. It had been a while since he was actually in a battle and he had a lot of steam to let off. If nothing else, it would definitely be a welcomed distraction from everything that had been going on and getting a victory over Austin would be an added treat.

A/N: And there we have it, the first chapter is done. Since this is a stand alone story, I kind of wanted to give it a darker feel than the other story, but nothing too sinister, at least not yet.

P.O.V. character for this chapter: Jeremy Crandall

Any information regarding OC's or just the story in general can be found in the 'Caustic Celadon' thread on my forum. Feel free to check it out.

Adios!