I've been wanting to start this for a while, but never got around to it! Ahh, anyway, I hope you enjoy it, although it may be confusing because it's just a prologue.

Disclaimer: Do I even need this? Obviously, I don't own Pokemon. Only the characters, plot, and cities in this story are actually mine.

Water. It was the only thing I heard as I walked along a path next to a narrow river.

Trees lined the side of the trail to my left, and up ahead there was a small stone bridge connecting the path to my hometown, Cherryvine City. The stone thudded lightly under my feet as I crossed it.

My eevee skipped alongside me, pouncing on spring leaves as they swept under her paws.

Cherry blossom trees sprung from the ground along the city's entrance, granting it its name, but we walked past them though the city's border.

The first thing I saw were fountains shaped like Water Pokemon. They propelled streams of water into the air as small children tossed coins into the spring to make a wish. Eevee ran up ahead of me, jumping onto the stone rim to quench her thirst with the fountain water.

Around me, young kids sketched chalk images onto the sidewalk. Others boldly played a dangerous game of 'pretend'. There were four of them, around the ages of six or seven, hidden among a ring of cherry blossom trees. Curiously, I craned my neck to get a better view. Eevee's ears perked up in confusion. She was too young to fully understand their actions, much like the kids were themselves.

The group of kids assorted themselves into pairs of two. One in each pair was hunched on the ground, playing the role of a pokemon, with the other two posing as their trainers. Even without being a part of their seemingly harmless game, I could clearly tell what doing. They were feigning a pokemon battle, a pastime that should have been allowed.

But the problem now was that it wasn't. Sometime over the past centuries, battling had become deemed as inhumane. Anyone who partook in it was immediately shunned, until it was decided by the government that it be banned altogether. The people who battled for fun were outraged; those who were pokemon coordinators didn't care as much. There was a violent revolt between the people who used pokemon in combat and the ones who preferred to merely befriend them. Both sides had arguments against the other, both equally matched in their feud.

But in the end, trainers were overruled, with their power withdrawn. And battling had been illegal ever since. Though there were still a few brave enough to take part in it…

I didn't know the whole story about the war or the events that led up to it; my parents thought that I was too young to know. All I knew was that battling, or even pretending to battle, could get you into a lot of trouble.

I knew the consequences of that better than anyone else did, and it wasn't a path I wanted to walk on again.

A girl who looked around six years of age started to speak, her words becoming ambiguous as they left her mouth.

"Eevee," I called, slowly creeping towards the ring of trees that enclosed the kids. She cocked her head, before soundlessly padding after me. I hid behind the trunk of a tree, poking my head around it to see them clearly.

"I challenge you!" a voice squeaked, before they all erupted into giggles.

"Fine, but you won't be able to beat me!" the smallest girl declared a little too loudly. My head jerked over my shoulder, my grey eyes scanning the Square for any signs that adults were listening in. Luckily, none were paying attention.

I withdrew a pokeball in fluid movements, my finger resting hesitantly on the button. These kids were too loud. I didn't know what the consequences were for children if they were caught pretending to battle, but it probably wouldn't be pleasant.

I pressed the middle button.

"Charmander, I choose you! Use—" The child's command was cut short by my own intentions.

"Espeon!" I warned urgently, and she understood. Almost instantly, a violent hiss resembling the crackling of a whip pierced the area. A tree branch snapped from the bark, falling dangerously in the middle of the children, separating the two groups of them.

Their faces lit up in terror, their shrieks of fright escalating in high pitches. My intention was not to scare them, but it worked: they stopped their game.

I sighed, relaxing against the tree. Running footsteps and astonished cries broke the silence that gripped us.

"What just happened?"

"Are you kids okay?"

Panicked voices from protective mothers pursued the scene. I peered around the tree trunk to see each pair of kids clinging to their moms.

"Time to go, guys." I withdrew Espeon, and Eevee and I darted away from the crowd that was now forming in the Square.

Tufts of light brown hair flew behind me as I ran. Eevee emitted a delighted call as the wind caressed her pelt.

"Eevee, where do you want to go now? We could go visit—"

My head ungratefully met the cold cement plastered to the ground. Pain cradled my bruised limbs, my head pounding unsteadily from the blow.

Eevee let out a worried cry. The earth spun beneath me, my vision distorted by the impact of…what? What had just happened?

Shouts of frightening levels of anger reached my dulled senses. That's when I noticed the boy who was crouched on the pavement. We must have run into each other.

Our eyes locked in a flurry of green and gray, as a burst of color made my head spin. My daze broke when he leapt to his feet, taking off into a sprint without casting another glance behind.

I stumbled to my knees, staring after him as he fled from the town. Two men raced past me to chase after the boy, who looked no more than fourteen.

"Wait!" I screamed after them. One barely turned his head enough to flash me a dirty look. Within seconds, they were gone altogether, leaving no trace of their pursuit besides kicked up leaves.

"Where do you think they're going?" I asked aloud, earning an inquisitive mew from Eevee. There was no more need for discussion. We both knew that I was planning on going after them.

I followed their path out of the city and across the bridge I had crossed earlier. Light imprints were embedded in the trail of gravel that led to the woods. I followed them to be soon immersed in the vast greenery of the forest. Eevee darted ahead of me, catching their scent.

I saw them vaguely in the distance through a break in the trees. Streaks of green whipped past me as my legs numbly pushed onwards. Eevee was panting beside me, but she didn't stop to rest.

The men were closer now, coming to a gradual halt. I slowed my movements too, straying behind them, but not close enough for them to be in my reach.

"Hey, kid. Looks like you have no other place to run to," one of them taunted, entering a circular meadow that was encompassed by trees and thick shrubs. Eevee hesitated at my side. This wasn't an area of the forest we were familiar with.

I ignored my instincts to flee and continued pursuing them anyway, scurrying closer to their turned backs. The boy with the emerald eyes remained impassive, reaching his hand into his pocket. He extracted a spherical, red ball, his face glinting in a different shade of light. There was a dark gleam to his eyes, a threatening sneer painting his lips.

"Try me," he growled, crouching in a defensive position.

"Fine. But don't go crying when you realize this won't be a fair fight." And as a man dressed in a blue shirt removed something hidden at his waist, I realized why he had said that.

He pulled out a gun, pointing it directly at the boy. Didn't he care that he was about to shoot at a kid? What could this boy have possibly done to them that they would kill him for?

A loud, strangled gasp echoed from my throat, my legs quivering as horrid memories overtook me. With a dim comprehension of the repercussions of my actions, I clenched my fists, waiting for their eyes to completely turn my way.

"Oh, look. A little girl's come to rescue you. How cute." The second one stepped towards me, his hands residing within the depths of his jeans pockets. I tried to muster as much ferocity as a frightened eleven-year old could, but by the amused look that oriented his grim face, it was clear that my attempts were wasted.

"What's the matter, sweetie? Are we scaring you?" He let out a quiet chuckle. He had sandy hair that fell in clumps around his forehead and an angular face.

"N-No…" My shaking limbs betrayed me. Eevee huddled behind my legs, pressing her forehead against my skin.

"Leave her alone. I'm your target, remember?" In a flurry of red light, a majestic golden fox materialized beside the boy, his ninetales shimmering in a mesmerizing glow. It ruffled its pale fur nonchalantly, resting its hostile crimson orbs on their hunters. The boy and his loyal partner assumed a fighting stance, their bond woven as tightly as if they were one entity.

"Don't be stupid, Seth. Use that pokemon and the whole forest will go up in flames," the one with the gun reprimanded, shifting his index finger on the trigger.

Seth tensed his muscles, and his Fire pokemon's tails wavered in impatience, the orange tips quivering in the same agile movements as dancing embers.

White light blinded me momentarily, as an unexpected spark of light burned through the air. Espeon broke out of her pokeball, her slim muscles arched in a protective stance in front of me. Her forked tail skimmed my arm—a reassuring gesture.

"The little girl wants to play too? I don't know whether to laugh or pity her." He took out a knife, the silver edge gleaming with malicious intent.

Espeon let out a sharp hiss, violently knocking the breath out of him with an invisible psychic wave. He flew a few yards backward, his head cracking against the chipped bark of a tree. His black hair oozed with a sharp crimson, the wound on his head leaving him incapable of movement.

"Tyler!" the gunman yelled, swiveling his weapon so it was fixated on me. Tears clung to my eyes, and I was forced to bite my lip to keep silent. Was I really going to die here?

No! I wouldn't allow that! I wasn't ready to die! I didn't...want to...to...

"Espeon!" I emitted a futile screech. An earsplitting ring echoed throughout the meadow, one that I was all too familiar with.

I crumpled to my knees, my face buried beneath the palms of my hands. Bird pokemon flew into the air in a flurry of excitement. Blood was pooling on the grass in front of me, like an hourglass that you couldn't turn over to stop the flow of time.

Espeon's purple head rubbed against my face, her very presence bringing an indescribable amount of comfort. She was my partner, my closest friend. I trusted her with my life wholeheartedly.

"Hey…" Seth stumbled towards me, a knife glinting in his hand. He threw it to the side, as if the very touch of it had burned his skin.

"Are you okay?" My eyes were glued to the dead man in front of me. He had been killed because of me. My stomach lurched in an uncomfortable knot, my head feeling very heavy all of the sudden.

"Yeah…" I rubbed my eyes, clearing my vision to gaze straight at his ninetales. Its deep red eyes burned a hole through mine.

How Scary.

"Can you do me a favor?" He glanced around him cautiously. "Will you keep this whole thing a secret?" His breath was shallow, the bravery that he had reflected earlier shedding from his pale face.

I nodded my head. My eyes darted across every detail that had just happened—from my initial fall, to Espeon's attack, to the knife that Seth had stabbed the gunman with. The bullet that had missed my head had assailed straight into a tree trunk, leaving a deep gash in the broken chips of wood.

That could have been me...

Eevee bounded forward and meowed gratefully to Seth. He smiled, an angelic ray of light emanating from his face. His eyes sparkled in a hue of various shades of green; they themselves portrayed more beauty than I had ever seen.

"Seth…" I whispered quietly, in a nearly inaudible mixture of sound. "Thank you."

I apologize if this is really bad! But this is just the prologue.