Hey guys, I know you probably want an explanation as to where I've been, what I've been doing. And honestly? I don't really have one other than stuff happened. I was in a pretty dark place last semester, and while writing has always been an escape for me, I realized that it wasn't healthy to keep using my writing as a way to pour out my emotions. I.e there is a story that I have on back burner (not this one) that you all will probably never get to read because that's exactly what I did with it. I can't exactly shake the feeling that that's what I've done a bit in this story as well. However, I did start this one when I was in a better place. There probably won't be regular updates as I'm graduating this semester and going onto grad school and student teaching, but I'll do what I can. As for Burns, I'm slowly working on it. I think the main problem with that story is that I wrote it backwards. I have most of the later chapters done but none of the newer stuff.

"What do you desire?" "I- I" Peace. Hope. Happiness. . . Isolde wanted to live! And then she woke up.

This world is widely inhabited by mysterious creatures called pokemon. Pokemon have many powers, they come in all different shapes and sizes. We humans live happily with pokemon! Living and working together in harmony. We help each other accomplish difficult tasks. Having one pokemon battle another is particularly popular. And it deepens the bond between people and pokemon. During your journey you will meet many different people and pokemon with various points of view. I truly hope that you find what is important to you during your travels . . . Have courage, and leap into the world of pokemon!

I do not own the Pokémon franchise, games, or characters. Nor do I own J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter

The Personality of Autumn

Dying wasn't at all what she imagined it would be. It was neither dark nor cold. No flames of hell with ghosts to torment her. Rather . . . , It was like watching a myriad of colors pass by through fogged glass.

Floating.

Empty. Yet . . . full.

And so very, very lonely.

"Tell me, my mistress what do you desire?"

In the distance a loud whistle blew.

Isolde's eyes flew open as she was jolted awake. Even though she was laying down she spun around on the bed beneath her, tangling the sheets.

Green orbs darted around the small room in confusion and wonder. Slowly she got to her knees and looked out a nearby window. Sparking blue water met her gaze. And a flock of white birds flew near the ship she was on, but were too far away to make out entirely.

The witch's head jerked up as a loud voice reverberated in her small cabin.

We will soon arrive at Nuvema town. Please prepare to disembark. Thank you for choosing Wailmer Barge co., we hope you had a pleasant journey. Please be mindful that all pokemon are required to be kept in their pokeballs during unloading. We hope you had a pleasant journey. Welcome to Unova.

"Unova?" she mouthed to herself. A slow, sad smile tugged at her lips. "My next great adventure. . ."

Isolde looked around and quickly threw off the bedcovers that surrounded her. She was dressed in nightclothes and blushed madly at the thought that ?Death? Had seen her. Her cabin was a simple light blue color, and all the furniture appeared to be bolted to the floor.

Looking around, the witch quickly located a small bag sitting on a chair, sitting innocently next to it was a small medallion engraved with the symbol of the Deathly Hallows.

As Isolde's fingers brushed the necklace, her world exploded in pain.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .gogogogogogogogogogogogogogogogogogogogogogogogogogogogogogogogogogogogogogogogo

The newly minted trainer rolled over on the floor in pain. Having all the information about the brand new 'world of pokemon' crammed into her brain was not an experience she cared to repeat.

Feeling nauseous, the young woman slowly got to her feet, and cast a wary glance at the source of her discomfort.

"Alright. . . " Isolde muttered witch rifled through the small bag until she found clothes that she liked, and more importantly were comfortable for traveling. Although it looked like all the clothes were pretty much the same in durability. She picked out a pair of black leggings, and a rather unusual tunic. There was a black under section that came up to her neck, and a red overshirt with a gold trimming and cream lace.

She looked very much like a gryffindor.

Isolde frowned, and check the clock. "Not too much time huh?" She knew,via the information dump andboyMerlinwasthatweird, that she was due to arrive in Nuvema town in less than a quarter of an hour.

She didn't have time to look through her bag and see what had been provided for. Isolde hoped that she had basic supplies at least. Or even some money. Quickly she packed her things and put the room in order.

"Professor Juniper, huh?" Isolde walked out of her cabin towards the front of the ship. She wanted to see it. See Unova.

As the green continent (region?Island nation?) came into view, Isolde sent a silent plea to whoever was listening. Please. Please.

The disembarkment of the ship went relatively smoothly. The young trainer's eyes darted around as people released their various pokemon once they were off the ship and fee from the crowd. Even though she'd gotten the knowledge and the general idea of them, it was still amazing to see these creatures. Each having their own special abilities and powers.

Nervously, she clutched her bag and looked around the harbour.

"Looking for something little lady?"

Isolde spun around to face a sailor, or at least she presumed he was based upon his outfit. "Yes, . . " She began slowly. "I'm looking for, a Professor Juniper? Um. could you, ah?"

"Could I tell you?" the man asked kindly. And the witch nodded.

"So what you'll want to do, is-"

With the man's directions, Isolde quickly found herself outside a large laboratory. She stood there a couple of minutes. After all, how does one enter a pokemon lab? But she wasn't a Gryffindor for nothing, and eventually entered. The lack of a bell bothered her though, she didn't really want to disturb these people from their work. Were they even expecting her? Oh Merlin! What was she going to do!? She didn't have an id or anything!

She folded a bit into herself. Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe she shoul-

"Ahh you must be Isolde Potter! Welcome dear. Come right in!" A middle-aged woman with sandy blonde hair pulled into a messy bun greeted her. "We're just waiting on the other new trainers. My, my, goodness me. There are so many of you today. Ah, where are my manners? Welcome dear. I'm Professor Juniper."

Out of habit, Isolde gave her a slight curtsey. "How do you do, ma'am."

Professor Juniper blinked in surprise, and Isolde agreed. Her accent and the Professor's didn't match at all. It was almost like comparing her English to the way Americans spoke.

It lasted a mere moment before the older woman returned to smiling. "Here's your brand-new pokedex, it will also serve as a trainer id."

"Um, could you. . ?" Isolde trailed off, not really sure what she was asking or why.

"Register you for the League? Don't worry it will all automatically be done by the end of the day." The woman gave her a sympathetic smile. "It was a bit of a surprise to hear from you. I don't usually get trainers this old staring on their journey, but . . I might be a bit biased but you'll do just fine, dear." The woman reached out and patted her shoulder gently. "It's not like there's an absolute path that you have to follow. Going on this journey is all about self-discovery and growth." The professor winked mischievously. "Don't let it slip to the younger ones, though. You just do what you want to do."

Isolde held back her panic and worry. Really what was she getting into here. No goal? Nothing? The medallion had imparted knowledge about the pokemon league to her, but . . it wasn't required? It was optional? What should she do? Isolde didn't know what she wanted, she was just following along now with what she should do.

She was . . . free to choose?

"PROFESSOR!"

Isolde and Professor Juniper spun around at the yelling.

"I got here first!

"No! I did!"

"Hilda-"

"Hilbert-"

"I WAS HERE FIRST!"

Isolde watched stupefied as a young pair of twins argued while simultaneously being stuck side-by-side in a doorway.

The girl was slightly shorter, and visually more noticable of the two. Her chocolate brown hair was pulled into a high ponytail and covered by a pink and white baseball cap. The rest of her outfit, a white tank-top, black vest, and jeans, really made her bright pink bag pop. She looked like any ordinary girl out for the day.

The girl's brother on the other hand, had slightly lighter hair with a red baseball cap. Black cargo pants, and an athletic looking jacket that Isolde heartily approved of. His clothing looked like it would be able to take a beating and survive. Both kids had very similar blue eyes.

"Will you two just knock it off for just one day!?" A boy's voice came from outside the lab. As he entered Isolde was struck by his oddly pseudo formal appearance. His black hair was brushed back neatly. The boy had matching slacks and a blue jacket. The white and red shirt underneath gave the passing impression of a button down and red tie. As the boy pushed up his glasses, Isolde couldn't help but be reminded of Professor McGonagall, though she had no idea why.

"Cheren's right guys." A slightly short blonde girl entered last. Her hair flipped messily out from underneath a white cap, and with emerald green eyes accompanied by freckles she was the very picture of adorable. Strangely, the girl had on a white dress, orange vest, and matching tights to complete the looks. That dress wasn't very practical.

"Calm down the four of you." Professor Juniper ushered a group of children into the lab with Isolde. Who was feeling increasingly self-conscious of her age.

"Cheren, Bianca, Hilda, Hilbert, I know you're excited-"

"I ready to become a pokemon trainer professor!"

Professor Juniper sighed, clearly acknowledging there was no winning. She led everyone over to a table where six pokeballs sat.

"This year is a bit unusual with so many trainers starting-"

"Yeah, who are you anyway?" The young blonde girl asked Isolde.

"Um. . "

"Bianca! Don't be rude. Sorry, miss. My name's Cheren. Bianca can be a bit excitable. Even though she was the one who showed up last. Additionally the twins are rather. . . energetic, I suppose."

"Hey!" The pair spoke simultaneously.

"Ah-hem. As I was saying," Professor Juniper continued. "Since there are five of you today, I asked my friend Professor Birch to send over some additional pokemon starters. So in addition to the traditional Unova starters, I also have the three Hoenn starters. Now," The Professor picked up the first pokeball and gentled tossed it in the air to release the pokemon held within.

A small green lizard-looking creature with arms came out and landed on the table. He? It? Had a smug look in its eyes "Vi, sniv. sniv."

"This is Snivy, the grass snake pokemon. Snivy can photosynthesize by bathing their tails in sunlight, which also helps then to move faster. And as such when they are not feeling well, their tails droop and their movements slow." The professor introduced.

"Next," The Professor released another, "Is Oshawott, the sea otter pokemon. The scalchop on its stomach is made from the same elements as claws. And it detaches the scalchop for use as a blade. Tepig, the fire pig pokemon. Tepig can deftly dodge its foe's attacks while shooting fireballs from its nose. When it catches a cold, the fire becomes pitch-black smoke instead."

"Whoa!" Bianca's eyes were filled with stars. Cheren carefully observed each pokemon calculating the risks and benefits of each. Hilda and Hilbert leaned forward in excitement A small, nervous smile was coaxed from Isolde.

The older woman chuckled at their reactions. She clearly loved her job. "Now, onto the three Hoenn starters. First we have Treecko, the wood gecko pokemon. According to Professor Birch Treecko has small hooks on the bottom of its feet that enable it to scale vertical walls. This Pokémon attacks by slamming foes with its thick tail. There is also Mudkip, the mud-fish pokemon. The fin on Mudkip's head actually acts as highly sensitive radar. Using this fin to sense movements of water and air, Mudkip can determine what is taking place around it without using its eyes.

Isolde's eyes widened in amazement. Pokemon were really capable of such things?

"And finally there's Torchic, the fire chick pokemon." A small white chick was released. " A fire burns inside her body, so she feels very warm to hug. Torchic can launch fireballs of up to 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit."

"Uh, Professor?" Cheren actually raised his hand. "I've seen pictures of torchic before. And well, aren't they supposed to be red and orange?"

"Typically yes." The pokemon professor replied.

"Is this a shiny torchic?" The other kids nearly started bouncing at the thought of such a rare pokemon.

"No, this torchic is . . . well, I would call her an albino, but really that's not quite the correct terminology either."

"Now, I know that you all have your own ideas for selecting your partner pokemon, but we need to settle this civilly, and-"

Before the professor could finish speaking, the small white pokemon, Torchic, lept from the table to the witch's should. Isolde didn't react to the sudden weight other than to turn her head to observe the creature. Torchic gently ruffled though her dark curls, before giving the witch a small nip to the ear. Almost . . almost exactly like-

"Hedwig?" Isolde sputtered brokenly, remembering her fallen friend.

"Torchic, chic, chic!"

Isolde's green eyes became glassy as she struggled to keep ahold of her emotions. She couldn't afford a break-down here but, but . . Hedwig! The witch bit her lip, and used right right hand to cover her face. Hedwig nuzzled into her hair and other hand.

"Oh. . " Bianca muttered, and looked away shyly.

"Well, it seems this Torchic has chosen you, Isolde." The professor smiled, before redirecting the children's attention away as to not embarrass her. "Now, who is going next?"

The four childhood friends glanced among each other before they finally settled on Cheren. Knowing instinctively that he would be much more particular about his pokemon than they would.

"I'll go professor." Cheren stepped forward, gaze sweeping back and forth over the various pokemon. "Mudkip." He finally decided. Professor Juniper handed the pokeball over, and soon Cheren's new partner was resting within his ball.

"Can I go next!?" Hilda burst out in excitement. Isolde removed her hand from her face. The witch watched in amazement as the younger girl sprung back and forth on her heels, hand raised high. A bit like Hermione, actually.

The pokemon professor gave a quick glance around, and seeing no objections, acquiesced to the young girl.

"Snivy!" Hilda leaned down and faced the pokemon with a bright smile. "How would you like to come with me?"

"Snivy, vi, vi!" The snake pokemon straightened before giving his new trainer a few mock punches to show off. Hilda laughed in delight. "I just know you're going to be the coolest!"

Isolde smiled at the happy scene. Even though she was in the background, she was happy to see this. From what she understood this was an important part of life here. And to see each child so very happy. . .

Hedwig gave her a light nip and nuzzled further into her neck. Her hand came up to gently stroke Hedwig's white coat.

Professor Juniper looked at the two remaining trainers. Bianca and Hilbert exchanged a quick look.

"Bianca, can go first professor."

The blonde's eyes lit up. "Really, Hilbert!? Thank you!" Bianca gave her friend a quick squeeze, before stepping forward. Both hands were clenched tightly in a 'you can do this' pose. "Umm . . .Uh uh . . . Oshawott? Would you be okay with me?"

The otter pokemon gave her a small salute. "Oshawott, osh!"

"Ha!" Bianca squealed in happiness picking up her pokemon and pulling him into a spinning hug.

Her friends laughed, used to her antics.

"I guess, I'm up now." Hilbert stepped forward examining the two remaining pokemon Tepig, and Treecko. On one hand the grass-type would be good against Cheren, but on the other Tepig would be good against his sister. "Tepig!"

The little fire pokemon stepped forward and blew smoke from its nostrils. Hilbert picked the pokemon off the table and began to examine his partner.

Isolde watched as the final pokemon, Treecko wilted. "Uhm, Professor? About Treecko-"

"Don't worry dear." Professor Juniper began to pet the grass type pokemon. "I'll ask around and see if anyone else needs a starter. And if not, Treecko is more than welcome to stay with me as long as he likes."

"Torchic! Chic, chic!"

The pokemon professor laughed at Hedwig's enthusiasm. "Now then here are your standard pokeballs, and your own personal pokedex."

Each of them accepted the dex and the spare pokeballs. Isolde was pleased to note that hers was silver and black, unlike Hilda's pink or Bianca's bright orange dexes.

"I imagine you'll al quite eager to start your journeys. However, it isn't that far to the next town, so I would suggest that you all keep together for now."

"Professor?" Hilbert questioned.

"I think it would be best to experience this journey with as many people and pokemon as you can. You might all go your separate ways, but for now, enjoy it together." The older woman winked. "Trust me kids, I know what I'm talking about."

Cheren nodded, seeing the logic in her statement. "All right professor."

"Wait!" Bianca suddenly shouted. "I can't believe I forgot!" The blonde rushed out of the lab leaving everyone else behind dumbfounded.

"Uh . ."

Cheren pushed his glasses back into place. "Ms. Isolde you're not from around here, are you?"

"No."

The young boy nodded. "I thought as much." Cheren gave a quick glance to Hilbert.

"Bianca's house is pretty close to the road, if you don't mind coming with us." Hilbert offered.

"Thank you." Isolde smiled.

As they exited the lab Hilda asked, "So, why aren't you going to put Torchic back in her pokeball?"

The witch exchanged a quick glance with her dear friend. Truthfully she hadn't even thought about it. "I . . Haven't really considered it. It just feels more natural for Hedwig to be like this. Is there, a rule against it here or something?"

"No!" Hilda waved her hands in denile. "It's just a bit unusual. Most people I know usually keep their pokemon in their balls."

"Not everyone though." Hilbert chimned in. "Uncle Larry usually keeps his Herdier out."

"Also pokemon Rangers have their partners." Cheren added and Hilda huffed in annoyance.

"You're all very knowledgeable." Isolde complemented.

"Of course!" Cheren stated. "It's my dream to become champion!"

"Hey!" Hilda and Hilbert shouted at the same time.

"Ah- how long have you all known each other?" The witch interjected.

The three shared a glance.

"Has there ever been a time when we didn't?" Hilbert questioned.

"I don't think so, no."

Isolde chuckled to herself, and Hedwig let out a few tweets.

"Ah! There's Bianca's house!" Hilda exclaimed!

Isolde looked forward, there sitting on the street corner was a small cozy looking cottage.

Hilda ran forward, "Just give me a few minutes 'kay?" The boys both nodded. I guess they're still in the 'cooties' phase.

Before Hilda reached the house, the door flew open and a frazzled looking Bianca emerged.

"No! No! A thousand times no!"

"I'm going!"

"Absolutely not!"

"But . . I'm a good trainer! I've got a pokemon and everything! I can totally go on an adventure!" Bianca paused as she saw them all on the road. The young girl pulled her white hat down, briefly covering her eyes, yet Isolde spotted the red flush upon the child's cheeks. "I'm fine, Um- I'll-" Bianca rushed past them and headed out further onto the dirt road.

Isolde, concerned for the girl's well-being didn't hesitate to run after her. The blonde stopped to catch her breath next to a white picket fence a block or two from her house. The witch cautiously approached and handed the girl a bottle of water.

Bianca looked up. "Um, . . . thank you." it was spoken like the barest hint of a whisper. Isolde quickly examined the girl and was satisfied to see that nothing was wrong physically at the least. Isolde just sat there with Bianca. She didn't know how to help the girl, nor did she really have any right too. The witch just sat there and prayed that the other children would hurry along for their friend's sake.

"Uhm, here" Bianca stood, brushed the dirt of her white skirt and handed the water bottle back. "I'm so-"

"Bianca!"

Both spun at the sound of Hilda's voice

Hilda crashed into poor Bianca, sending them both to the ground, hard.

"Bianca! I was so worried! Don't run off like that! Even if we're all rivals now, you're still my best friend!"

"I- I'm- you think of me as a rival?" Bianca sputtered.

"Of course we do, silly." Cheren who just arrived with Hilbert, shook his head in astonishment.

"Hilda, are you trying to crush poor Bianca?" Hilbert accused.

Both girls flushed in embarrassment and the boys laughed. Isolde just smiled all the while watching from the sidelines. These kids were truly close. It reminded her of the way she had been with Ron and Hermione. I'm all alone here . .

"Chick!" Hedwig pulled on a curl snapping Isolde back to attention. She looked at Hedwig, then back at the kids. She was the odd one out here, but that was fine. She didn't have Ron or Hermione, but she had Hedwig with her at the least.

"Uhm, Ms. Isolde?" Hilda spoke. "It's not too much farther to the main road so-" The girl trailed off rubbing her head.

"You don't have to call me Ms., just call me Isolde."

"But you're older than us!" Bianca interjected.

"Ha-ah!" Isolde gave a small laugh. "Not by much, I'm only seventeen."

"Really?" Cheren asked puzzled. "I would have thought you were older, I mean you're . . ver- Ouch!" Cheren didn't get to finish as Hilda lightly elbowed him in the ribs.

Hilda hummed in excitement. "Here it is." She looked around in wonder "One more step, at it'll be the farthest away from home we've ever been."

"Since we're all here, why don't we all take this first step together?" Bianca asked, linking arms with Hilda and Isolde.

Hilbert and Cheren rolled their eyes, but nevertheless joined the human chain.

"Ready?" Bianca asked, "Ready, set go!"

The all hopped forward at once, and even though Isolde felt a bit silly doing something so childish, it was strangely freeing. Besides it made Bianca happy, and although the other kids might grumble it would be a good memory for them.

"We're finally off on our adventure!" Hilda cheered.

Cheren looked around. "Hey, want to see who can catch the most pokemon?"

"You're on!" Hilbert grinned, and flames sparked in his sister's eyes.

Isolde sweatdropped. Why is it a competition?

"Go!" Hilda yelled and raced off to explore the nearby area.

Each of the other children ran off in different directions, but Bianca caught her hand. "Er, M- . . Isolde, would you like to come with me? I can teach you how to catch pokemon and everything."

"Of course! Thank you so much!" Isolde smiled.

The two searched around a bit, until Bianca found a small pokemon. Isolde, still trying to get used to things, held up her pokedex to scan the creature.

"Lillipup, the puppy pokemon. It faces strong opponents with great courage. But, when at a disadvantage in a fight, this intelligent Pokémon flees. Additionally Lillipup's long hair around its face provides an amazing radar that lets it sense subtle changes in its surroundings. This Lillipup is female, and has the ability Vital Spirit."

"She's so cute!" Bianca cooed, and Isolde had to agree with her. "I've decided! Lillipup! You're going to be a member of my team!" With a quick glance back, Bianca released her Oshawott to face the wild pokemon. "Oshawott! Are you ready?"

The Lillipup seeing the young trainer, tossed her head a bit in acceptance of the challenge.

"Uhm, okay, Oshawott use Bubble!" Bianca commanded nervously. Isolde looked on in interest. So this is a pokemon battle?

The Lillipup, however, had other ideas, and swiftly dodged the attack. The wild pokemon ran forward and tackled Oshawott.

Bianca cried out in alarm, "Oshawott!"

"Oshawott, osh!" Although the little water type was knocked backwards he stood up defiantly and released a point-blank Bubble attack.

"Lilli!" The other pokemon cried in alarm and took a few steps back.

"Great job Oshawott!" Bianca praised.

Lillipup however, wasn't done just yet and charged Oshawott once again.

"Tail Whip!" Oshawott rapidly curled, and in a great display of trust, turned around to whip his tail in the face of a changing Lillipup. The wild pokemon upon getting a face full of Oshawott's tail came to a decisive halt. Lillipup began to paw at her nose. Isolde was impressed at the bond between Bianca and her pokemon already.

"Now Oshawott! Use Tackle before she has time to recover!"

"Osh!" The small otter pokemon tackled the wild Lillipup head first and sent the other flying into a nearby tree.

Isolde blinked in surprise. Had Tail Whip made that much of a difference?

"Uh. . ." Bianca began to rummage through her bag. Quickly she extracted one of the miniature pokeballs she had received from the professor. "Pokeball go!" The ball quickly met its target, and Lillipup was sucked inside. The ball shook once, twice, thrice, and exploded with a shower of stars signaling that the wild pokemon had been captured.

Bianca beamed in pride. The young blonde scooped up her Oshawott and ran over to Lillipup's pokeball. "We did it Oshawott!"

"Oshawott! Osh!" The tiny water type pumped a fist in the air.

Isolde clapped. "That was wonderful Bianca!" She stated, and the younger girl blushed. "Thank you for showing me how to catch pokemon."

"Oh, it was nothing really." Bianca replied embarrassed.

"You and Oshawott did very well together!"

Bianca and Oshawott shared a look. "We did, didn't we?"

"Are you going to let her out?" Isolde questioned.

"There's a pokemon center in Accumula town, I think its probably best if I wait so that Lillipup can get healed."

"Oh . ."

"No! I like Lillipup too! It's just-! Well-" The blonde began to fidget and turn.

"It's alright Bianca." The witch smiled gently. "I'm not exactly from around here, so I'm just trying to get a feel for things. This whole pokemon thing is new to me too."

"Ohh . . So uh- why, er, nevermind." Bianca looked away. "Return Oshawott!" The water type was sucked back into his pokeball. "It's been awhile, so we'd better try to go meet up with the others."

"Alright."

"Um, do you want to catch anything?" The younger girl asked.

Isolde shared a look with Hedwig. "No, not right now I don't think." It was too much at once.

"Okay." The two girls quietly made their way along the road to the next town, scanning any pokemon they saw with their dexes.

"Hey guys!" Hilbert greeted. "What took you so long?"

Cheren pushed up his glasses "So how many did you get Bianca?"

Bianca held up her pokeball with pride. "I caught a Lillipup!"

"So we all have two each then. . ." Cheren muttered.

"Wait!" Hilda cried and quickly snagged Isolde's arm. "Boys vs Girls!"

"Er, Hilda?" Isolde spoke sheepishly. "I didn't really want to catch anything."

Hilda pouted and shot a sour look at her brother and Cheren.

"We're still all tied up then." Hilbert stated.

"Come on! Let's explore town!" Hilda encouraged. She never seems to run out of energy.

Woods soon fell away to reveal a small town nestled within several gently rolling hills.

"I need to go to the pokemon center first!" Bianca declared.

"Yeah, we should all visit and make sure our new pokemon are alright." Cheren agreed as he pulled out a small map. "Lets see now, the pokemon center should be couple blocks to the right from here. . . "

"Ah!" Hilbert declared spotting the bright orange building. "There!"

As they entered the building Isolde could feel her eyebrows climbing higher, and higher.

"Welcome to the Accumula Pokemon Center." A woman with bright pink hair greeted them from behind a counter.

"Hello Nurse Joy!" Bianca said. Oh yeah, there were a bunch of Nurse Joys weren't there? All identical . . . .How does that even work!?

"Ah you must be some beginning trainers form Nuvema town. I hope you had a good time."

"Yeah! We all caught pokemon too! Could you heal them for us Nurse Joy?" Hilda asked.

"Of course!" Nurse Joy smiled warmly. "That's my job after all! Chansey? Audino?" Two pink pokemon emerged from behind the counter, both were fairly tall. Each one held a tray. "Please place your injured pokemon in the tray. It shouldn't take more than an hour or so. Why don't you all explore the town in the meantime?"

"Hmm? Hilbert, you're not going to heal Tepig?" Cheren questioned.

"Nah, He's pretty good. I used a potion earlier. Besides, I want to see if they're anyone around who will battle me."

"And you dear?" Nurse Joy asked Isolde.

Green met gold. "No thank you ma'am. Hedwig and I are just fine."

"My, you already have a nickname for your Torchic? You must be very close already. Then again, that is certainly an unusual colored Torchic."

Isolde just nodded. Were pokemon of unusual colors really that rare?

"Now then, if you're looking for a battle young trainer, there is a small plaza not too far away that usually has at least one going on."

"Really?" Hilda asked excitedly.

The nurse nodded, and Cheren pulled out his map. "Now you just go down this street here and take the second left."

"Thank you Nurse Joy!" Hilbert said.

"Do you want to come Isolde?" Bianca asked.

"Sure." She didn't really have anything else to do, and she didn't exactly feel comfortable leaving a group of 10 year-olds alone in an unfamiliar place. Yes, that seemed to be the normal practise here, but she wasn't exactly okay with it yet. Not to mention, Isolde was curious to see more battles, and she knew that Hedwig was too.

They passed the time walking to the plaza with small talk. Again, Isolde was reminded that she was an outsider. But thankfully each of the kids made an effort not to leave her out.

"Wow! Look at this crowd!" Hilbert peered over a mass of people. "I wonder if there's a good battle going on?"

Cheren frowned. "It's a bit too quiet for a battle. . "

"Hey?" Isolde asked. "Who are those guys?" Being slightly taller she had a bit of a better view, and could see a group of people standing at the front of the crowd. They almost reminded her of bouncers or police, because they had formed a barrier between the crowd and the main speaker. Each of them was wearing something that vaguely resembled a knight's tunic and armour. Not to mention there were several large banners with an unusual looking 'P' on them.

"I dunno." Hilda stated, confused. "I've never seen them around before . . "

Suddenly a dull milky green-haired man wrapped in a purple, white, and gold cloak stepped forward. If Isolde didn't know better she'd say he was a wizard with an odd garment like that, not to mention the odd eye shapes. Also, she believed it was called a crow's nest collar? Anyway the hood? Of the cloak was shaped a bit like a crown. Not to mention he had a patch (no string though, Isolde wondered how it stayed in place), over his right eye.

"My name is Ghetsis. I am here representing Team Plasma. Today, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to speak to you about Pokemon liberation."

"I'm sure that most of you believe that we humans, and pokemon are partners. That we have come to live together because we want and need each other. However . . . Is this really so? Have you ever considered that perhaps we humans . . . Only assume this is the truth?" Ghetsis paced back and forth in front of the crowd. "Pokemon are subject to the selfish commands of trainers. . . They get pushed around when they are our 'partners' at work. . . Can anyone say with confidence that there is no truth to my words? Now, ladies and gentlemen, pokemon are different from humans. They are living beings that contain unknown potential. They are living beings from which we humans have much to learn. Tell me, what is our responsibility towards these wonderful creatures called pokemon?"

"What?"

"Liberation?"

"What should we do?"

People in the crowd began to mutter amongst themselves. Ghetsis merely held up a single hand in a gesture calling for silence. Remarkably, it worked.

"That's right! We must liberate pokemon!" The man continued. "Then, and only then will we be equals! Everyone, I end my words here today imploring you to consider the relationship between people and pokemon . . . and the correct way to proceed. We sincerely appreciate your attention"

Several people dressed like knights strode forward and collected the banners. The remaining formed a tight circle around their leader and escorted him out of the park. Murmurs of doubt began to rise from the assembled crowd.

"What do you think we should do?"

"Pokemon liberation? Is such a thing even possible?"

"Well . . . that was weird." Hilbert frowned as his twin nodded in agreement.

Bianca looked towards the older witch. "Do you . . . think its true? Are we making pokemon suffer?"

" . . . I don't know." Isolde answered truthfully. And she didn't. This world was so foreign to her. But if Hermione had be here, . . . if Mione was here she probably would have been on the platform with that man. Her house-elf crusade for equal rights was more than enough proof. Was that a conflict that was going on in this world?

"Your pokemon . . . . Just now it was saying" The crowd parted and a boy with long green hair came up to them. Although quite limber and tall he looked to be about Isolde's age. He clothes were an unusual mix of monochromatic colors. What seemed to be a golden rubix cube hung from his waist. The boy's pale blue eyes were strangely cold, and his face was nearly expressionless. Isolde absorbed all of his physical characteristics in an instant, a bit of an old habit passed on from Professor Moody. Not that he ever got around to teaching formally.

. . . . Who was the boy speaking to?

"Slow down you talk too fast! And whats this about pokemon, talking? That's an odd thing to say" Cheren's brows furrowed. Isolde agreed, the boy was speaking really, really fast. It almost made her wonder if- . . no, that was none of her business.

"Yes, they're talking. Oh, I guess you all can't hear them either. How sad. My name is N." The boy reached up, and pulled the brim of his cap down to shade his eyes.

"I'm Hilbert, this is my twin sister Hilda!" The older twin boy introduced.

"Hi." Hilda gave N two thumbs up.

"Cheren." The analytical boy nodded.

"And I'm Bianca!" The blonde spoke, gripping her bag strap tighter.

" . . . Isolde Potter, pleased to meet you." The witch enjoyed the lack of recognition, actually, he barely glanced at her. Seeming to give Hedwig nearly all of his attention.

"We're all rivals to become the next pokemon champion!" Hilbert declared smiling.

N frowned, his eyes went flat and lost all light. Isolde held back a shudder, the energetic young man was gone. If she hadn't known any better, she would have called him doll-like. Cold and calculating. Ice blue pierced her very soul, she could feel the judgment, the weight, in his gaze. "So, you're going to confine many, many pokemon into pokeballs for that, then." She could hear the anger in N's voice. "I'm a trainer too, but I can't help but wonder, are pokemon really happy that way?"

"What are you talking about?" Hilbert exclaimed. "Of course people and pokemon belong together!"

"When people and pokemon work together, we can accomplish amazing things!" Hilda agreed, fists pumped and ready to go.

N swiftly glanced around at all of them, observing Cheren and Bianca's agreement, Isolde's own detachment, before his gaze returned to Hilbert.

"You, . ." N stepped forward. " . . . . Hilbert was it? Let me hear your pokemon's voice again. Let's battle!"

"You're on!" Both boys leaped back while Isolde and the others cleared the immediate area.

N carefully observed his opponent before nodding to himself. He ignored several of the other pokeballs he had and went straight for his newest friend. "Purrloin!" A dark purple cat pokemon with cream colored paws apparel. Its claws looked razor sharp, and the pokemon also had strangely bright pink eyelids.

"Tepig!"

Isolde held her dex up to scan the unfamiliar cat-like creature.

"Purrloin, the Devious Pokemon. They steal from people for fun, but their victims can't help but forgive them. Their deceptively cute act is perfect. This Purrloin is male, and has the ability prankster."

"Alright, Tepig! Let's kick this off with ember!" Hilbert commanded as he pointed to N's pokemon. Isolde blinked, the boy had seemed insulted a minute ago and now, now he looked extremely happy. The witch sweatdropped. She supposed that most of the people and pokemon here liked to battle . . . then again. . .

"Dodge it! And counter with sand-attack!" Purrloin easily slipped away from the embers Tepig shot, and kicked up a miniature dust storm.

Both Tepig and Hilbert groaned in annoyance at the tactic. "Tepig!" Hilbert began his plan, "Blow out smoke and fire to clear away the dust!"

Everyone's eyes widened at the command. Isolde recalled what the professor had said about Tepid earlier, that boy, he had remembered it? And was able to make use of it during a battle?

The much hotter air created by Tepig forced the sand to subside, revealing that Purrloin was only a few feet away from the little fire-type.

"Tepig!" Hilbert cried in alarm.

"Too late, scratch!"

Purrlion's claws connected with Tepig's face, in surprise and pain the pokemon blew out more fire and smoke.

Tepig took a few steps back, and Purrloin retreated to avoid getting hit.

"Tepig are you alright?"

"Te, te, TEH!" The little pokemon stomped his hooves in resolution to continue, and win the battle.

"Alright!" Hilbert grinned broadly, pleased that his new partner thought the same. They weren't out of this yet, not by a long shot!

"More . . . " N muttered lowly, and Isolde spun around. Clearly the only one who heard the other trainer's voice. The green-haired boy was smiling again, eyes alight with excitement. "Let me hear!" N yelled out, this time attracting everyone's attention.

Isolde snuck a look to the kids around her, they all looked a bit unsettled by the older teen's behavior.

"Tepig tackle him!"

The fire-type reared up on his hind legs and began charging towards his opponent. Neither N nor Purrloin flinched.

Tepig was nearly within range when N commanded, "Jump up and scratch again!"

"Kick up!" Tepig halted and using his front legs as an anchor kicked up. The fire-type's hooves connected squarely with Purrloin's chest and sent the opposing pokemon flying.

"Purrloin!" N's stony face and icy eyes didn't change, but you could hear the concern in his voice.

"Follow up with ember!"

The small sparks and flames connected with the dark-type mid-air causing further damage. Purrlion hit the ground hard, and although he struggled valiantly, it was evident to Isolde that Purrlion had fallen the wrong way and had injured himself.

"Purrlion, return!" A red beam shot out of N's pokeball as his pokemon was called back.

Hilbert looked excited. "Allright Tepig, get ready!" The boy's partner stamped his hooves and flew sparks from his nostrils in a gesture of intimidation.

"This battle is yours." N's face was shadowed, Isolde couldn't read him.

"What!?" Hilbert jolted in confusion, the sentiment was echoed by the other children.

" . . . I never . . expected Tepig to say such things . . ." The green haired teen looked off into the distance. "As long as pokemon are confined in pokeballs, they can never become perfect beings. I have to change this world for pokemon! Because they're my friends!" He spoke lowly, but not aggressively.

"Hey? Uhm, whats the big idea?" Hilbert recalled Tepig and approached the other trainer. Cheren, Bianca, and Hilda followed to see if something was wrong. Isolde hung back bit, but wanted to make sure everyone was okay. N was acting pretty odd. From what she understood, forfeiting a battle was pretty unusual.

Giving up . . .

The witch's head drooped.

If she's had a choice, Isolde would have never fought. In the end hadn't she just made everything worse? Voldemort had targeted everyone dear to her simply for that purpose.

"Tor, chic, chic!" Hedwig began to nibble a section of her hair and Isolde smiled sadly. Running her fingers through Hedwig's feathers she couldn't help but recall that light. The poisonous green. The way the spell crackled with malicious energy. She'd never even been able to say goodbye . . . not to anyone of them . . . not really . . .

"Torchic!" The tug was stronger this time.

Did they blame her?

N's head jerked around.

"What? . . .You?, why would-?" Three quick strides and N was standing right infront of her. Isode shook free of her thoughts and tilted her head up to see what the young man wanted. Nearly a whole head shorter the witch was started down by glacial pools. Something was sparking in those eyes, disbelief maybe? But his attention was fixated mostly on Hedwig.

Regardless, "I beg your pardon?" Isode asked testily.

"I . . ." N managed to choke out. "Torchic . . um, alight."

Slightly defensive now, Isode transferred Hedwig from her shoulder to the safety of her arms. "Is something wrong?" She asked again.

N took a fortifying breath. "Your Torchic, she, she has something she wants me to tell you . . . "

The witch's eyes went wide, she didn't even track the movements of the other kids. She didn't know why, but, she felt ashamed. Isode hugged Hedwig tighter to her chest. Slowly she looked up. "Hedwig? What is Hedwig saying?" She was already prepared for the condemnation.

It was nothing new.

The green haired trainer stared down at the girl long and hard. Trying to figure out why her pokemon was saying such things. But, . . it seemed important, the least he could do was convey these words. The words that shook him to his core. "She says. . . There's nothing to forgive, I would make the same choice again, because . . ." N's hands trembled, he could nearly feel the emotion the small fire-type pokemon was trying to convey. " . . . you're my dearest friend."

Come on guys. Do you seriously think that a veteran trainer like N would actually lose to the player at the beginning of the game? N regularly switches out pokemon so I kinda think that he travels around and pokemon volunteer to go with him and help him on his crusade. Or Ghetsis brings him abused ones. Poor little guys. Remember pokemon are basically people to him. Or rather, pokemon are better than people to him. Does that make sense? I'm actually going to be changing the story a bit, not much, but I'm not actually turinng Isolde into the protagonist (Black/White game story btw not the anime or manga). Most of those shenanigans will be left to the munchkins. I was always kinda disappointed in the game that it was only at the very end that N started to have doubts. So my version is going to be a bit different. After all he's being influenced not just by the kids, but also by Isolde who really has no clue what's going on.

And yes, I brought Hedwig in as an Albino Torchic, not a shiny one. It all started when I was planning out Isolde's team. I wanted her to have a mega-evolution, but at the same time I was dead set against giving her any of the Unova starters (except maybe Snivy, but other than being a snake, Snivy is just awesome no matter what anyone says). I also already had some team members in mind, but not one of them had a mega. Then I started to think a little bit about how N would latch onto Isolde, and boom! That last bit was created and Hedwig was brought into the story for Isolde to have a trusted friend beside her in this new world.

Isolde's team is finalized, sorry as much as I would like to have you all be apart of it, I started this story months ago and I was never even sure that it would get published so I made a team with my own selections so i could keep writing. However, I will give you the nicknames to see if you can figure out what pokemon I picked. And remember I didn't just stick to 5th gen pokemon, I pulled from everywhere.

So without further ado, Isolde's team is . . .

Hedwig (Torchic)

Gnome (?)

Revan (?)

Azura (?)

Arciel (?)

Freezeria (?)

I'm actually pretty proud of this team. It's well balanced (sorta), and nothing is repeated~

And yes, I am also posting this on another impulse. Yes, this is probably a bad idea. Do I regret it?

. . . . No.

Until next time!