The swift, cool breeze ruffled her hair. Here, she felt so free. She could do anything! Her Staraptor carried her carefully in his talons. She was unable to be hurt because of her heavy jacket.

"Hey, Star!" The girl called to her Pokémon as she was reading a map. "I think we're here, so let's land now." Immediately after her words were spoken, the map escaped her grasp and shot out behind her, where it would find its way to the oceans and eventually back on land. The girl had better things to think about now, though.

With a simple "Raptor!" the bird Pokémon dove down to the ground, the girl laughing as the wind pushed her hair back even more against her skull. She knew that at the end of this journey, she would have to brush her hair for at least a week straight, but right now she didn't care. She was free! She could start her journey in this new place, and it would all be good.

As they neared the ground, the Staraptor suddenly let go of the girl, sending her rolling into the ground. She rolled several times in the sand before slowly sitting herself upright, spitting out sand and rubbing her skin free of the small particles.

"Star!" She complained, looking at the Staraptor with an annoyed face. "You didn't have to do that, did you?"

The said Staraptor shrugged his large wings. After releasing the girl, he had landed himself atop a small rock and was now cleaning his wing from underneath. "Raptorrrr!" He called, managing to hide his smile of amusement under his wing

The girl didn't seem to notice as she stood up and brushed her back and legs off as well before running her hands through her messy hair.

She had bright red skin, but that was to be expected as she had come a long from the Sinnoh region; her pale skin was not adapted to the heat and intensity of flying so close to the sun.

Her eyes were a dark brown, and her hair a knotty, auburn mess. Again, with her long journey from Sinnoh, the wind had turned against her and tangled every single strand of her hair, it seemed. It almost looked like Tornadus himself had blasted her with his Hurricane attack.

Despite her attempts to clear her reddish-brown hair of the sand, a few speckles still stayed here and there in it.

"That was unnecessary," the girl muttered under her breath, knowing the Predator Pokémon could still hear her. He only replied with a loud squawk. "You're as bad as Mom said you would be- and then some!"

Star opened his large wings up and flapped them a few times, lifting himself off of the rock and landed on the girl's head. She stumbled slightly at his heavy weight and crossed her arms. "Star. Get off of me. Now."

Star smiled to himself and bent his knees so he could look at her better. Red eyes met brown, and the girl frowned, causing the Staraptor to smirk even more.

"Star!" She shouted, shaking her head violently to try to get the large bird off. She was lucky the bird knew her as long as he did (he was actually almost as old as her mother and father) otherwise he might've dug his sharp talons into her skin, piercing her skull.

Instead, to not cause any harm to her, he flapped his wings furiously and lifted himself into the air, away from the girl to go explore. She sighed and put her bag down, searching in it for a hairbrush her hair oh-so-desperately needed.

After finding the item, she ran it through her hair multiple times, hissing quietly with each stroke. It was painful!

A few moments passed, and the girl got the feeling that she was being watched. No, not by Star, but something- or someone- else. Her hand instinctively went to her side, where her three other Pokémon were.

Her hand enclosed around a familiar Poké Ball she knew too well.

"Daisy, stand by and prepare for battle," she whispered, a light brown Eeveelution nodding. She was a beautiful sight; light brown melted into a light green, which in turn melted into a darker shade of the forest-color, all in the shape of a leaf. Her dark-brown-tipped paws balanced herself evenly as she crowched down, ready to pounce at whatever was there. A soft growl let the girl know that there most definitely was something there, and from the looks of things, it seemed to be coming closer.

With a quick Razor Leaf aimed at a group of bushes, a loud cry could be heard. "Ember!"

The girl took a quick step back as a feline creature stepped out.

It was a light green color, but wherever the sun hit it, it glowed an orange-red color. Its fur was all neat and even, minus a fluffy tuft of fur on its chest and ears. Two large, purple eyes blinked suspiciously at the girl and her Leafeon. Its whiskers twitched, ready to begin the fight.

The girl stared in awe at this new Pokémon. What was it? The Leafeon was clearly not impressed by her Trainer's lack of commands, so she fired another Razor Leaf. The leaves twirled into the air, straight at the feline.

The cat was hit, but quickly got up. It ran into the beach, letting itself get fully covered by the sunlight. Its pelt glowed a radiant orange as it sent a small Ember towards the Leafeon. Daisy was able to dodge it, and looked at her Trainer for help.

Already moved on from the strange sight, the girl brought out her Leafeon's Poké Ball. Since it was a Fire-Type Pokémon, a Water-Type would be good against it.

"Go, Piplup!" She called, sending out the small penguin. "Use Bubble!" Piplup happily obliged, and sent a steady stream of bubbles at the feline.

The cat shook out its fur, but it didn't seem to be affected much. What is with this thing? I thought it was a Fire-Type, so how is it resisting the water attacks?

"Bubble again!" She called out. Again the same result happened, only this time, the cat seemed more annoyed than before. It ran towards Piplup, raising its paw as it turned a bright green. Claws extended- long, green, and leaf-shaped- before slashing the poor Piplup across his chest.

"Piplup!" The girl panicked, worried for her Pokémon. That was a Grass-Type move- she was sure of it! But how was this . . . cat-thing able to use both Fire- and Grass-Type moves?

"Use Peck!" She said suddenly. She didn't even have time to process her own words before Piplup's beak turned white and rammed into the feline's side. It fell, defeated, from the weak Flying-Type move. "Trem . . ."

The girl sighed in relief and hugged her Piplup. "That was great, Piplup! I was really worried for a moment there."

"Pip. Pip-Piplup!" Piplup replied, puffing out his chest proudly. The girl smiled and brought out her PokéDex to scan the Pokémon.

No data found.

Odd . . . She set Piplup carefully onto the sand and grabbed an empty Poké Ball from her bag. She might as well try to capture this new Pokémon . . .

She went right next to it and tapped its side with the Poké Ball. With a red glow, the feline was captured. The Ball shook once, twice, three times before it stopped. The girl glanced down at Piplup, smiling.

"Look, Piplup! We only got here and we already caught a new Pokémon!"

"Piplup- Piplup." He nodded and eyed the Poké Ball nervously.

She pet her blue penguin and opened the Poké Ball so the green feline could come out. "Trem- Trember," was its greeting. It shook out its fur and sat down, glaring at Piplup. Piplup narrowed his eyes in response and crossed his flippers over his chest indignantly.

The cat rolled its eyes and looked up at the girl. "Ember?" She reached down and pet it between its ears. The cat hesitated at first but let itself be pet by the human. A soft purring sound could be heard.

The girl brought out Piplup's Poké Ball and, despite his chirps of protest, returned him. She reached down and picked up her new Team member, letting it rest between her arms. The green Pokémon struggled for a second before the girl pet it again, calming it down.

She looked up as she heard a loud sound, as if someone was in pain. But is wasn't just any someone.

"Raptorrrrrr!"

The girl's eyes widened. "Star!" She gasped and started to run in the direction of the sound, the feline held against her chest. "Star! I'm coming!" Something was very wrong. Star was an amazing flyer; he never faltered or got tired easily. If he was suddenly injured . . .

The wind hit against her face as she raced on. If the situation wasn't as dire as it was, she might have closed her eyes and enjoyed the breeze.

As she got closer to the place where Star was, the cat wiggled, trying to get out of the girl's arms. She didn't want to let it go, so she kept her grip on it secure. The cat suddenly hissed and bit her hand with its front teeth. The girl held back a help of pain and opened her arms up, giving the cat a chance to leave.

It raced towards the sound where Star's cry had come from, the girl behind it, holding her hand gingerly. It eventually came to a stop in front of a small crowd of about four people. They wore all black and their hair was the same length, so it was nearly impossible to distinguish between male or female. They were all surrounding an injured Staraptor, his wing bent at an unnatural angle.

"Well, this is a Staraptor, I believe," one of them spoke. He had a deep, musty voice. "Wonder what it's doing all the way over here."

"We can always take it back to our base?" Another suggested.

Without warning, the feline arched its back and fired its Ember at the people. It faded away as it neared their jackets, but that didn't stop them from noticing. The male that had spoken earlier opened a Poké Ball, sending out a rather large bird.

Its feathers were a dark blue, almost black color. The underside of its wings was a blood-red and it had a fluffy pile of soft down along its neck and chest. A big yellow beak rested at the front of its face, and a hat-shape was on top of its head.

The girl knew this Pokémon all too well. Not only was it a Sinnoh-native, but it was also-

"Honchkrow, use your Foul Play attack." At his Trainer's command, the Big Boss Pokémon rushed towards the feline. The green Pokémon dodged it, but only just. It brought its paw back as it extended its claws, them turning a bright green. In one swift motion, it slashed forward, hitting the Honchkrow right in his chest.

"Wait!" The girl called to her Pokémon, but her words were on deaf ears. The feline, blinded by its own personal grudge against these people, attacked again, but this time with Ember.

A powerful blast of water knocked the feline off its paws and onto its side. "Tre . . ." It meowed quietly in pain as a new Pokémon put his foot on the fallen Pokémon's head, signaling its loss.

"Good job, Greninja. That was great," one of the others congratulated her Kalosan Pokémon.

"Give it up," the first person spoke again. He moved to stand in front of the cat. "Your stupid Embers and Leaf Claws will do nothing to us."

As if to prove him wrong, the green feline tried to summon an Ember attack, but falling short miserably and instead coughed up small embers and smoke.

She girl couldn't watch this any longer. This was her Pokémon! And it was getting hurt because of her poor commands!

"Hey!" The people all turned to look at her. The two females that had spoken narrowed their eyes at the stranger, making her suddenly feel self-conscious. The older man, however, smirked upon seeing her. She didn't even get to look at the fourth member as the man chuckled quietly.

"Oh? What do we have here? A little girl come to rescue a weak Trember?" He took a step towards the girl.

Her face hardened in anger. She definitely had her mother's spirit, that's for sure. "Don't you know that four against one isn't fair?" She completely avoided the man's comments about herself.

He lifted his eyebrows, his black eyes dilating slightly. "But that's no fun. And besides, only two of us were actually doing anything. However . . ." He scanned the rest of the people, and as if by an unspoken command, they both released their Pokémon. "We can always give you what you want."

Before he had even finished speaking, the other woman was already giving out commands to her own Pokémon. "Liepard, darling, go ahead and send them off with your Pursuit." Her voice was sickenly sweet.

She must've noticed the girl stretching her arm with the Poké Ball out to return her green feline, and that's why she called that specific attack.

The Liepard didn't even hesitate as she cloaked herself in a dark aura and ran straight towards the nearly-fainted Pokémon. The green cat only whimpered, but didn't even struggle as the attack hit it with double damage. It was returned immediately after the attack.

"No!" The girl whispered angrily.

"Oh, don't tell me that was your only Pokémon! What a waste of time, and all for a newbie Trainer who doesn't know when to keep her mouth shut!" The leading male cackled rather loudly.

The auburn-head clenched her fists and threw two Poké Balls in front of her. Daisy, her Leafeon, and a small pink Pokémon popped out. The pink Pokémon hopped on both feet eagerly, waiting for a command.

"Mime Jr., attack with Attract, and Leafeon, use Razor Leaf!"

The mini-mime winked at the three opposing Pokémon, sending small blue hearts towards them. The Greninja and Honchkrow shook off the Attract, but the Liepard wasn't so fortunate. The hearts all swirled around her before hitting her directly. Hearts formed in her eyes as she looked at the Mime Jr. adoringly.

"Stop it!" The Liepard's Trainer yelled, her strange kindness being replaced by bitter anger. "He doesn't love you- I thought I trained you better than this!" She groaned and ran her fingers through her cropped hair, her black eyes filling with hatred towards the auburn-head and her Mime Jr.

While all of this was happening, Daisy ran forward, sending razor-sharp leaves towards the three opponents' Pokémon. Liepard was returned before she could get hit, and Honchkrow seemed barely affected by the leaves. Only Greninja seemed to be majorly damaged.

The Liepard's Trainer turned around furiously and began barking orders to the poor boy behind her. "You've got a Pokémon, haven't you? Use it!"

The boy gulped nervously and revealed a small, fluffy bird that he was hiding behind his back. His eyes met the girl's, and she gasped quietly; his eyes were green.

And if that wasn't enough, the bird in his hands was one that she had never seen before. And she didn't remember anything else matching its description. It had two large blue eyes and white-and-gray wings. "Chirp! Chirp!" Came its cry.

The girl continued to stare at the boy and his strange avian friend. Neither one made any effort to move or look away.

It wasn't until Daisy collapsed at the girl's feet that she broke her gaze away and realized she messed up. All around them, the ground had large dents in it from the Honchkrow's Air Slash attack. That was seemingly what caused the Flying-Type-weak Leafeon to fall.

"Daisy!" Worry crossed her face as she returned her fallen partner.

"Mime!" Her small Mime Jr. spoke aloud, reminding her that there were more important things to be concerned about.

The girl nodded. "Alright, Mime Jr.- use Icy Wind!" Immediately the pink Pokémon caused the wind to pick up, dropping it to freezing temperatures. The water in the air froze and were thrown at the opponents.

The Honchkrow faltered in his wing rhythm.

The blue-eyed boy that was also there had clutched his small bird to his chest and turned so his back was facing the ice, all in an effort to protect the avian.

The other three people there covered their faces with their arms as Mime Jr. used the move again.

"Yeah! You go!" The girl cheered her tiny Pokémon encouragingly. We might have a chance to win! We almost have the Honchkrow down, and the boy's bird doesn't seem like any real threat. But then there's that Greninja-

The Honchkrow raced towards the Mime Jr. The pink Pokémon widened his eyes, freezing up.

"Foul Play!"

"Quick! Use Barrier!" Mime Jr. nodded at his Trainer's command and formed a large wall in front of him. The Honchkrow hit it at full speed, and with a loud thump he was defeated.

As the male returned his Pokémon, the girl smirked. Her Mime Jr. hardly had a scratch on him, and he had defeated a large Honchkrow already. She took a step towards the group, only to have the male step to the side, revealing Star. The girl gasped at his condition.

Both wings were bent at unusual angles, and warm red blood seeped through a puncture in his left wing. His eyes were closed as his face was pushed against the ground by none other than Greninja's webbed foot. The bird scratched his talons against the ground in a desperate attempt to free himself, but it was no use. He was drained of all energy, and couldn't move.

"Star . . ." The girl croaked, guilt rising up in her at having to see him like this.

"Come one step closer, and I'll have my Greninja kill him right here and now!" The Greninja's Trainer growled.

The girl shook her head, looking down. How could she have been so stupid? In the midst of the battle, she had completely forgotten the whole reason she had come this way to begin with. She took a step back, then another.

"Good girl," the woman spoke again.

"What do you want?!" The girl demanded, looking down as fresh tears formed in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. She quickly wiped her face and looked up at them through squinted eyes. "Why are you doing this to Star?!"

The woman smirked and snapped her fingers. "Do it."

The girl didn't understand until her Mime Jr. fell suddenly. The blue-eyed boy stepped forward, his fluffy bird sitting on his shoulder. His clear green eyes met the girl's brown ones, and began to glow an unnatural neon green color.

Her whole body suddenly felt too heavy. Why? Why was all of this happening? She was so . . . tired.

She fell onto her knees and hands, everything around her becoming tilted and shaky. She looked up, seeing the Greninja kick Star away, and him rolling over limply.

Black boots stepped in front of her, and she didn't have the strength to lift her head enough to see who it was. However, the voice told her enough. "We want you to know that you will never win. Team Shadow will accomplish our goals, and there is nothing you can do to stop us." Before the girl could protest, the Greninja's Trainer's boot hooked under her and kicked her stomach. The girl's arms flung from underneath her, and she fell onto her front completely. The pain from being hit in her stomach returned, this time being multiplied by three or four times.

Her hair was pulled and her head was lifted. Her half-closed eyes met the woman's pitch black ones, and the latter held up a rose-gold colored phone. "I believe this belongs to you?"

The girl muttered something inaudible, and the woman laughed.

"Well, I guess I'll be keeping it, then. We definitely can't have you calling for help now, can we?" She pushed the girl's face back into the ground.

"It's a shame you were defeated so easily. I might have considered having you join us, but oh well. I guess not everyone gets what they want- Greninja."

Without warning, a powerful force hit the back of the girl's head, and immediately she gave in, letting sleep overtake her.

With her now out of the way, the woman stepped back, looking at the other three. The man looked impressed, but the other woman was the opposite. The boy, however, kept staring at the girl; it was him that did this to her. The woman looked at him and narrowed her eyes.

The second woman noticed this, and put her hand on the boy's shoulder. "Don't worry about her, darling." Her voice was back to its sweet self it was earlier. "You know 196- shes always like this."

The first woman- 196- rolled her eyes and huffed quietly before turning back to the girl and opening her bag. She searched through it, looking for anything of any importance. She pulled out a small Sinnohvan PokéDex. She started it up and flipped through it, looking for the Trainer Info section.

A quiet "aha!" Let everyone know that she found exactly what she was looking for. "So, her name is Brianna . . ." She stopped, reading the last name. Her face went white and she gulped quietly. "She's from Sinnoh." She really hoped none of them noticed her pause.

"Well at least we know who she is, but why does this matter? She's not even a real threat with a Team like this." The man who had spoken looked at the fainted Staraptor and Mime Jr.

"Never mind." 196 stuffed the PokéDex back into Brianna's bag quickly. "I was just looking to see if she had what we were looking for." She stood up straight and looked back at the others.

A drop of rain fell down, and when 196 looked up at the sky, it was full of dark clouds. It was clear just a second ago . . .

Immediately, the clouds got tired of waiting and opened up, releasing a heavy downpour down on the five people.

"Let's go! We can look for it tomorrow, once the rain clears!" The woman shouted at the rest of them. Without another moment to waste, she returned her Greninja and ran through the trees and pelting rain. The other two adults followed.

The boy took a step after them, but stopped and looked at the girl, ignoring his small bird's chirps of annoyance. "Brianna . . ." He whispered before facing forward again and rushing after the three others, leaving the girl behind in the heavy rain.

3845 words

So, what do you all think of this? It took several days to write. This is obviously just the intro, and the real story will begin sometime in the summer I'm hoping (I still need to finish Pokérus, but right now I cannot think of a good way to write chapter nine. I'm stuck!)

Oh, also, this story will contain some spoilers for Pokérus, so if you plan on reading that, I suggest not reading this story first. However, this can also be read as a stand-alone story. In other words, you don't need to read Pokérus in order to enjoy and understand this story.

So... welcome to Aviina, and I hope you all enjoy your time reading this.