Until Dusk

Until Dusk

~ Prologue ~

Footsteps pattered in the rain. Soft. Almost unnoticeable.

"Quick, I thought I saw it go through here!"

Bright red lights shone through the leaves. A fearful gasp hissed between her teeth and she spun, furry paws landing hard against the wet earth as she ran. She tried to reach within, access Teleport, but her powers… where were they?

Leave me alone, her heart cried out. Hot tears fell on brown fur. Leave me be!

As if her hearts cry had brought light to her fear, radiance exploded around her, breaking through the night. She gasped, skidding in the mud. A cry, unlike any other she had heard before, deafened her ears. It was like two Steel-type Pokemon charging horns first against one another, Skarmory wings scraping together.

You.

She looked up. Two blood red eyes met hers.

And she screamed…

...

"Leave me alone!"

Sweat poured down Charley's back, soaking through the back of her nightshirt as she sat up. Light slowly faded into her vision. She wasn't in the forest, near any sort of a dark, Dragon-shaped Pokemon. She was here, in her room, in Lavender Town, Kanto.

At least, for the rest of the day.

The previous weeks' discussions with her parents came rushing back.

"Charley, guess what, I've been promoted! The company it sending me to the Paniola Ranch in Alola! Isn't that exciting!"

"I know you've been looking forward to starting your Pokemon journey here in Kanto, honey, but you already know almost all of the Pokemon here! Won't it be exciting to visit a new country and explore it for your journey?"

Her mom even tried to butter her up by having the local Pokemon professior, some crazy crackpot called Kukui, send her a video chat displaying all of the interesting Pokemon that Alola had to offer.

But… the Alola professor almost certainly did not have a Charmander to give her. Ever since she was a child, Professor Oak had promised her that, as a gift for the start of her journey, he would give her a Charmander, her favorite Pokemon. She would never get to work with him, train him to be strong and wise, until he finally evolved in the a Charmeleon, and then a Charizard. They would never fly across Kanto together, battling gym after gym until she faced the Champion at the Pokemon league.

"They don't even have a freaking Pokemon league in Alola," Charley snarled. She threw off her comforter and slouched over to the bathroom. "Or even gyms for that matter. It's ridiculous. How is someone supposed to go on their first journey without battling a single gym."

Hot tears rolls into the corner of Charley's eyes. She gritted her teeth and stared at herself in the mirror, willing them to disappear. Though her green eyes shook, the tears sputtered out. She was done crying. Nothing was going to change. The insane box maze that was her bedroom was proof of that.

"Mreow."

Warm fur rubbed up against Charley's leg. She sighed and leaned down to stroke Maggie, her mother's Meowth. The Meowth purred in pleasure and trailed her tail around Charley's hand. She scratched the Pokemon under the chin.

"Wanna run away, Maggie?" she asked.

The Meowth just purred in delight, rubbing its head into Charley's hand. Sunshine glimmered on the kitten golden head coin. In the reflection, Charley saw the image of an eighteen-year-old girl whose dreams had just been ripped out from under her.

In Kanto, the tradition was that, after high school graduation, the students were allowed to participate in a journey across the region. The hope was that, during this journey, they would learn about themselves, about the world and, at the end, have a better understanding of the path they wanted to take as adults. Her friends were here, Hanna, Miko, Nate, and Trip. Friends she had gone through everything with.

And now…

"Charley!" the voice of Charley's mother echoed from down the hall. A few moments later, a soft knock came at her door. "Charley, dear."

"Yes, mom?"

The older woman gently pushed on the door and peeked through. Her dark brown hair, much like Charley's, spilled around her slender shoulders. She pushed a pair of horned rimmed glasses up her wide nose and gave a crooked tooth smile.

"I'm glad to see that you're awake dear. Are you okay?"

Charley quietly nodded her head, petting Maggie.

"Charley, I know you're heartbroken about not getting to journey here in Kanto. Your father and I talked it over and we've come to an agreement I think you may like."

Charley slowly lifted her eyes, skeptical.

"If," Mom raised a single finger. "You can complete the island challenge successfully, visit the four islands, beat each of the islands captains and kahunas, as a celebration present…" she sighed. "We will send you to Professor Oak and you will be allowed to start a second journey across Kanto. If you're up for it that is."

"R-really?" Charley's jaw dropped. "Mom, this better not be a tease. Please do not let this be a tease. I cannot handle it."

Her mother laughed. "It's not a tease, dear. Give Alola a try, and we'll let you come back here to finish up your journey."

...

"There she is! Get her!"

Lillie cursed under her breath as she heard the agents shouting behind her. She gripped her bag close to her body and dashed, cutting passed people dressed in pristine white and sparkling grey. Aggravatingly, her boots clinked hard against the chrome tile beneath her.

"I'm going to get you out of here, Nebby," she hissed through gritted teeth, clutching her bag all the tighter. A small tinkling sound, like the chiming of Christmas bells, echoed from the enclosure.

"Not so fast!"

A man and woman pair, both dressed in white, appeared in front of her. Lillie stumbled backwards. The man held a small radio to his face.

"We've got her, boss."

"Like heck!" Much to her own amazement, she took off one of her shoes and threw it at the man. Surprised, he took the full brunt of the weight, dropping the receiver.

She took the moment, spinning down another hallway, kicking off her other shoe as she went.

What was she thinking? Taking Nebby? Escaping her mother? This was nuts, this was insane.

You'll never amount to anything, child.

You are foolish and ignorant. You know nothing about the world and you have never tried. Why, you can't even train a Pokemon properly.

Tears welled in the corner of her eyes. She could feel Snowy's pokeball resting on her hip, untouched and unused in so many days. She had been such a failure to her companion and to Nebby for so long.

But not anymore.

As she passed through the corridors, she found herself entering into a wide room that was almost like a green house. Tall, Alolan palms wafted in a fabricated breeze around her, Wingull resting on a strange wind. In the bushes, she noticed a few Yungoos poking their noses out, scrabbling in their ferret-like way.

"What is this place?" she placed her hand on a white rail, looking around the room. Pokemon… they were everywhere. Pokemon of all kinds, even some she had never seen before. A strange, blue turtle Pokemon toddled on its hindelegs, coming over to peer at her.

"Squirt?" its voice sounded like it was speaking through a mouthful of marbles.

"What are you all doing here?" Lillie whispered, placing a gentle hand on the Pokemon's head. If she knew her mother at all, she knew it couldn't be anything good.

"Got you!"

Lillie screamed as someone grabbed her hands, lifting her in the air. Nebby's bag fell from her arms, spilling onto the ground. A small Pokemon tumbled out, its hands short, and it's body like a swirling galaxy.

"Nebby!" Lillie screamed. She kicked her feet, almost clobbering her attacker in the knees. But the agent was strong and he pushed her face-first onto the chrome floor. Hot, painful tears rushed down her cheeks. "Let me go, let me go… Nebby!"

The nebula Pokemon chimed. A bright light surrounded its body, surrounded Lillie. The grip on her arms slackened as everything went black. her arms slackened as everything went black.