Chapter 1

"Hamycus, come back!" White shouted as her Tepig pelted over the church organ and leapt off of the church platform. He was followed by about six toddlers, all squealing and giggling.

"I can't talk now, just call the cops!" He shrieked as a little girl tried catching him. "And if I don't live through this, tell Purr and Penelope I love them!"

The people who had lingered to talk after service started yelling as Hamycus and the children ran through them. A baby Tepig was easy to avoid, but six growing toddlers were another thing.

White sighed and ran after them. She kept apologizing as she accidentally knocked over a few people. A few of the elders and adults started laughing as White smacked right into a teenage girl.

"I'm sorry!" White hissed desperately as the girl yelped and collapsed onto the floor, dropping all the books and papers she was carrying.

"Oh, hello, White," the girl sighed wearily, taking White's outstretched hand and standing upright.

Margaret Kinsley was one of the two people at the church who was White's age. She was a little awkward but White got on fairly well with her. She had maroon hair and bright green eyes. Margaret was slightly cross eyed, and always wore her dark, red rimmed glasses and long red cloak. White had never seen her without a cloak or jacket on.

"Are the little kids chasing your pokemon again?" Margaret asked curiously as she scooped up her papers.

"Hamycus," growled White, helping her friend pick up the papers and books.

"Have you ever asked Danny to help you? The kids listen to him."

"Will he?"

"I'm positive he'll help."

White frowned as she handed everything back to Margaret. Danny was also White's age, but was younger by a year or less. He had been the first person to approach White when she first visited the church. At first, she had thought his uncle, the pastor of the church, had put Danny up to introducing himself. But it had turned out that he had done it by his own free will.

"Why are you being so nice to me? Most people don't come near me because of my background." She had asked Danny after first meeting him.

"Well isn't it obvious?" Danny had replied. "You might have had a rough beginning, but that doesn't make you a bad person. We're all evil. You're no different than me."

White sighed and looked back at Margaret.

"Do you know where he is?" She asked her.

"Oh yeah, he's in the greeting center up front," explained Margaret, pointing toward the sanctuary doors that led to the main entrance.

"Great, thanks," White thanked her, running off and bursting through the large doors.

The church entrance was more crowded than the sanctuary. Adults were discussing their plans for the week with each other while little kids ran around chasing each other. White saw some people glance nervously at her as she ran over to the greeting center near the front doors. Pastor Jonathan and his nephew, Danny, were at the greeting center, talking to visitors and members.

"Danny!" White called, running over to the teenage boy behind the counter.

Danny looked around for the person who was calling his name. He then spotted White and smiled.

"Hello, White!" He greeted her, pushing past his uncle and striding out behind the counter.

Danny was a sixteen year old boy who assisted in greeting people and played the organ for the worship team. He had shoulder length blue hair and red eyes. For someone who was a year younger than White he was surprisingly tall, almost half a foot taller than her. He reminded her of someone she had met, but she couldn't think who.

"I need your help!" She started, slightly distracted by the little kids' screaming.

"With what?"

"A bunch of five year olds keep kidnapping my pokemon!"

"Well, technically they're six and seven year-"

"I don't care how old they are, I just need help getting my Tepig back!"

"Just out of curiosity, why can't you do it yourself?"

"Because they won't listen to me! One little girl actually spit on me once!"

"They will do that, won't they? Alright, you've convinced me."

White smirked at him as he grabbed her hand and pulled her down one of the halls. All the Sunday school classes were over, but she could still see adults talking inside the rooms. White caught glimpses of kids hiding under tables and chairs as they passed some rooms, though none of them were the kids that chased Hamycus.

"How come they always chase my pokemon and not yours and Margaret's?" White demanded as Danny led her up a flight of stairs.

"Well they did before you came along," he replied.

"Then why do they only attack my pokemon?"

"Because they can never find Margaret's Sewaddle when they try to play with it and my only pokemon keeps getting them into trouble."

"What kind of trouble?"

"Broken vases, broken toys, broken instruments, broken bones-"

"Ok, ok, I get the point, forget I said anything..."

Danny suddenly threw out his hand to stop her. White stopped and heard laughing and a squeal like a pig's above them.

"There they are," said Danny, pointing at the ceiling.

"What's up there?" asked White.

"The torture room."

"Are you serious?"

"Yep."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Well, most people call the torture room the attic."

"You scared me for a second."

They finally reached a door that was slightly ajar. Danny wrenched it open to be welcomed by a scream of surprise. White ran next to him to see inside.

A little girl was lying on her back, laying as if she was just thrown aside. Her long brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she was wearing a long green dress. The girl's face was turning pink as she looked up at Danny and White.

"Hello, Gilda," Danny said in a cheerful tone. "What is a kid like yourself doing all the way up here?"

"That's a very good question," squeaked Gilda shyly.

"I thought it was, and you better have a good answer too."

"I hope so too..."

White chuckled a little as she moved into the cramped room, reminded of Amos Jackson from Unova. She felt her stomach clench a little. She had not seen Amos in a year, and hadn't even heard from him since she left Unova.

"Have you seen a Tepig, about this big and this wide, goes by the name of Hamycus?" Danny asked Gilda, moving his hands to show Hamycus' height and length.

"Up there," whispered Gilda after a small pause, pointing at a ladder propped up against the wall. The ladder led up to a small opening in the ceiling.

"Thank you," White told her as she climbed up the ladder.

The ladder wasn't very sturdy and she almost fell off once. Her mechanical arm seemed to clang a little as she grasped the sides even though she wore a glove over it. White had lost her real arm a year ago while fighting one of the remaining Team Plasma Seven Sages, Zinzolin. His Weavile had given her a serious frostbite that had poisoned her. It would have killed her if it hadn't been removed. To avoid extra stares and harsh comments, she decided to wear gloves to hide her arms.

The room beyond the opening was larger than the room below. Cardboard boxes were staked everywhere. The only light in the attic was from a small window on one side of the room. White heard giggling from behind a large crate behind the opening.

She looked around before climbing into the room. There was a high pitch squeal as something small but hard landed on White's head. She yelped and caught Hamycus before he hit the wooden floor.

"Oh thank goodness you came to save me from those monsters!" The baby Tepig cried, clinging to the front of White's old overcoat.

"Well not exactly, I merely wanted to tour the attic." White said sarcastically.

Hamycus glared at her for a moment before climbing into the hood of her coat.

There was a loud crash as two little kids tore out from behind a pile and lunged themselves at White. She yelped as a little boy landed on her back, making Hamycus squeal with fright. She could've sworn that she heard her bad leg crack as a girl clung to it.

"Gotcha!" The little girl squealed happily as White fell onto her back from the weight.

"Yeah, yeah," White said in a frustrated tone. "Would you mind getting off my legs?"

"Nope!"

"Please?"

"You're our prisoner! We can't let you go!" piped up the little boy.

"On what charges?"

"What charges?"

"You need a reason to arrest me."

White smirked as the two kids exchanged bemused looks. 

"You were trespassing!" The little girl finally squeaked.

"Yeah!" agreed the boy.

"You're trespassing too then."

"But we're the good guys!" pouted the girl. "We can't be arrested!"

"Well I just did," White snapped, standing up and wincing. Her leg throbbed painfully from where the girl clung to her leg.

"Well look what we got here."

Danny climbed off the ladder and stood next to White. She noticed that the two kids looked a little terrified.

"We were just leaving," said the boy hurriedly, edging toward the ladder.

"Do your parents know you're up here?" Danny asked, stepping closer to the kids. The girl slowly shook her head and the boy glared at her.

"Well it looks like you two broke the law too," he told them sternly. "Now where are the rest of your little friends?"

"We won't tell you!" growled the boy, folding his arms.

"If you don't, I'll tell your mother."

"You wouldn't!"

"Wouldn't I? Come on, Jake, where are they?"

The boy, Jake, glared at Danny before pointing across the room and a large crate. White heard angry hisses from behind the crate as two boys and two girls peeked out.

"Blabber mouth!" One of the boys snapped at Jake.

"He would've told my parents!" Jake protested.

As the kids started arguing among themselves, White edged toward Danny and hissed, "Thanks for helping, but now you deal with them."

"What- hey!" Danny yelped, but White had already jumped through the opening and began running down the stairs.

"Are they gone yet?" She heard Hamycus whimper, his springy tail bobbing up and down from over the side of her hood.

"Yeah, but you got to be careful around the kids!" White lectured. "I can't go chasing after you every time that happens!"

"I know, I'm sorry..."

"Well I'll let it go just this once!"

Hamycus growled but didn't say anything else. Hamycus had been a birthday gift from Hugh, one of her friends in Unova. Hugh had become one of Professor Juniper's assistants and had been experimenting with breeding pokemon. He had bred his Emboar with a female Pignite and had gotten a Tepig egg. Since White's Pignite, Amycus, had been killed the previous year, Hugh had given the egg to her in hopes that the Tepig might make her less lonely for her Pignite. But when the egg hatched, White had gotten a little overwhelmed and decided to call the baby Tepig Hamycus (or Ham for short) after the deceased Amycus.

White ran down the flight of stairs and darted through the hall beyond. She had to get home before the old woman or Archy started worrying.

She heard a small squeak of surprise as she ran into the entrance hall.

"YOU'RE ON MY HOOD, YOU'RE ON MY HOOD!"

White looked down to see a small Sewaddle at her feet, trying to tug its hood out from under her foot. She lifted her foot up as it gave a large tug. It fell over and squeaked insults at her, making Hamycus squeal in terror.

"Watch where your stepping next time!" The Sewaddle bellowed as it swung its hood over its head.

"Well it's not my fault you're so small!" She retorted.

The Sewaddle opened its mouth to snap back, but a small squeal came from behind them.

"Sowny, get back here!"

Margaret was pelting toward them. She was relieved of the papers and books, and was now clutching a large rectangular case to her chest. Her glasses were crooked and her hair seemed more ruffled than it was a few minutes ago.

"I've been looking everywhere for you!" Margaret scolded the Sewaddle, scooping Sowny up and placing him on her shoulder. White was filled with resentment as Sowny glared at her and stuck his tongue out. Margaret clearly didn't notice because she began petting his head.

"Does that Sewaddle even listen to you?" White asked calmly, scowling at the purring Sewaddle.

"Yes, he does," Margaret replied, adjusting the case she was holding. "He's been a little cranky lately. I don't know what happened, but he got hurt and has been very jumpy."

"I can tell," She growled. "What's in the case?"

Margaret suddenly blushed and swung the case behind her. White saw her wince as the case hit against her back.

"I-It's nothing," she stuttered. "Just something I have to take home." 

"What is it?"

"I said it was nothing..."

"Whatever," sighed White. "Its none of my business."

"Where is Mrs. Parker?" asked Margaret after a moment. "Is she alright?"

"She's fine, she just didn't want to leave the house. Something has been stealing berries from her garden, so now she doesn't feel right leaving the garden unguarded." She explained, frowning in annoyance. "I personally think she's wasting her time. It's probably just a Bunnelby."

"That's understandable," said her friend. "That garden was Mr. Parker's before he passed away. It means a lot to her."

A shriek of laughter then came from the hallway White had just come from, and the kids from the attic tore past them. Danny was giving one of the kids a piggyback ride as he ran back down the hall. The girl on his back squealed and laughed happily as Danny zoomed past them.

White rolled her eyes and turned back to Margaret to see that she was watching Danny with a dreamy expression.

"You like him, don't you?" White demanded, a smirk crossing her lips.

"Wha- no!" Margaret denied hurriedly, shaking her head vigorously.

White laughed as her friend began to blush a deep red. Her face was almost the same shade of red as her hair.

"Let me guess; you two are dating." White sneered.

"Well not exactly dating, but we're, uh, close friends..."

"You're so dating."

"He gives me piano lessons, so what?"

"Well the way you were looking at him said otherwise."

Margaret looked like she was about to die from blushing. She pulled her cloak closer to herself as if shielding herself from White's teasing.

White sighed and looked around. The adults were trying to herd their kids out the door or were talking in low voices. White then noticed that Pastor Jonathan was watching Danny and the younger kids with a reluctant expression.

"Danny's family have been getting a little worried about Danny." Margaret told her, noticing what White was looking at. "I heard there have been quite a few family arguments about him. They want him to be a pokemon trainer like he's brother, but they think he's a little immature for a sixteen year old."

Margaret blushed a little as she said this, but White didn't notice.

"Pastor Jonathan thinks so too?" White asked her.

"It's not really him, it's mainly Danny's mother."

"I never met her."

"Well she doesn't come to church, and Danny's brother is rarely home. Anyway, she wants Pastor Jonathan to talk to him about do something big like his brother, but he doesn't want to pressure him."

White watched the kids and Danny before asking, "Who's his brother?"

She saw Margaret twitch a little when she spoke. Her friend seemed to be figuring out what to tell her.

"Look at the time, I better get home!" Margaret finally squeaked, moving past White and running towards the doors. "I'll see you later!"

She could've sworn she saw Sowny stick his tongue out at her as Margaret disappeared in the snow beyond the doors. White watched the doors a second longer before noticing that Pastor Jonathan had approached Danny. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but she saw that Danny's face had grown stony. Danny then brushed the kids away from him and followed his uncle away from all the people.

"I'm hungry, I'm hungry, I'm hungry!" chanted Hamycus, tugging at her hair. White growled but steered toward the doors.

She pushed open the doors to be welcomed by a gust of ice cold wind. It was snowing fiercely outside and White could barely see the buildings of Pallet Town around her. She heard Hamycus squeal in surprise and duck back into her hood. White pulled her overcoat closer to her before trudging toward the side of the church building. She could see a small flame lit next to one of the walls.

A large Charizard was halfway buried in the snow. It was snoring loudly and the flame on its tail tip was flickering. White bent down and shook the dragon-like pokemon gently.

"Abel, get up," she murmured, shaking the Charizard's shoulder.

Abel grunted as he woke up, rolling over on his back and looking up at White.

"Is it done already?" He yawned, blinking curiously up at her.

"Yeah, why else would I be here?" said White, helping Abel back on his feet.

Abel the Charizard had formerly been White's grandfather's pokemon, but had been passed onto one of her grandfather's close friends, Mrs. Parker, after he died. Mrs. Parker had not only taken in all of Gregory Copperfield's pokemon, but had also taken White in a few months ago.

After White had failed to get a job because of her 'unfortunate past', Pastor Jonathan had introduced White to Mrs. Parker, who was looking for a young teenager to help around her house. White had taken on the job, and had not only gotten a job, but a home as well. It didn't take her long however to discover that her grandfather's pokemon were all living in the same house, which included his Absol, Gengar, Charizard, Delphox, Houndoom, and Audino.

"Where's my staff?" White asked the Charizard as Abel bent down.

"Uhhhh..." Abel started sheepishly. "I was sleeping on it."

"What?!"

"It didn't break or anything!" He added hurriedly, digging in the snow where he was sleeping. He then pulled a large thin rod with a chunk of pointy ice stuck to the top out from the ground. The Charizard brushed the snow off it and handed it to White.

"Thank you," White growled lightly, taking the staff and climbing onto Abel's back. Her staff had been used to protect herself a year before while facing Team Plasma and a Kyurem. It was a reminder of how much it had cost her to protect her region.

She heard Hamycus squeal as Abel stretched out his wings and took off from the ground. The air was colder in the sky, and she could see nothing but white snow flurries and the gray sky. White shivered and wrapped her arms around Abel's neck.

"REMIND ME WHY WE HAVE TO TRAVEL LIKE THIS AGAIN!" Hamycus bellowed over the wind as Abel flew over the route to Viridian City.

"You wouldn't understand, Hamycus!" White replied, wiping snow off her face.

The truth was that whenever White walked between Viridian City and Pallet Town, a group of older teenagers were always there waiting for her. When she first moved to Kanto, she wasn't bothered by the kids' snide comments and remarks, but then they took it up a notch. They had begun abusing her, verbally and physically, and had played tricks and pranks on her. The worst so far had been when they dug a hole in the middle of the route road and covered it with leaves. White had fell in it and had sprained her ankle. She hadn't been found till after dark, and she refused to tell the police and Mrs. Parker about what really happened.

After a few minutes of flying, a dozen lights shone through the snow below them. The Charizard dived through the clouds and White could now see the Viridian City. Mrs. Parker did not live right in town, but she lived on the right side of town.

Abel dove from the sky and flew toward the ground. White yelped as Abel half crashed, half landed on the ground. She tumbled off his back and landed in the snow. Her Tepig squeaked as he fell out of her coat hood and landed a few feet away from his trainer.

"How many points would you give that landed, Abram? I'd personally give it a seven and a half." A bitter female voice hissed from nearby.

"I'd give them 'er six," replied a southern, raspy male voice.

White looked up and saw that they had crashed in front of a large cabin near the forest. The long front porch was pretty much deserted except for an Espeon and an elderly Absol.

"Oh, it's you two," growled White, straightening up and glaring at the two pokemon. "Haven't you guys done enough heckling?"

"Heckling?" rasped Abram. "We were merely giving you a grade on your landing. I thought your score was fair."

"My score was fairer than yours!" snapped Tiny, her tail flicking in annoyance.

Abram snorted but didn't reply. White scowled at them and reached down the pick up Hamycus. Tiny was an Espeon that she had been left by her grandfather. Abram was her grandfather's Absol that was now under the care of Mrs. Parker. Both Tiny and Abram had belonged to the same trainer at first, but after Gregory Copperfield's murder they had been separated and were given to two different people.

"Have you seen Archy or Raichu?" White asked the two pokemon as she stepped onto the porch.

"Archy's in yer' room and Raichu is in the garden." explained Abram, gesturing to the side of the house. "Somethings gone and nicked more berries, and now the woman's gone and forced Raichu 'ter guard the garden."

"And how did Raichu react?"

"She took fairly well," replied Tiny. "She threw a tantrum, but that was all."

"At least she's getting better," White sighed as she turned to walk toward the side of the house.

Raichu was a pokemon White had as a toddler. Raichu had once been a loyal, friendly, and gently Pikachu, but that had all changed after Team Plasma ambushed White and stole her precious Pikachu. Only after two to three years of being under the control of Team Plasma, the once loved Pikachu had been transformed into a murderous, bitter, and harsh Raichu. Brainwashed and power hungry, Raichu had become the trophy of the leader of Team Plasma, Ghetsis. But before she returned to her former stat, Raichu had murdered Amycus the Pignite, and was later scarred for life by knowing that she killed one of her friends.

White saw Abel brush snow off his wings before taking off in the air again. She heard Tiny and Abram start criticizing the Charizard as she moved behind the side of the house. An old, gray wooden fence surrounded the snow filled garden that was on the right side of the house. White pushed open the gate and stepped into Mrs. Parker's garden.

Mrs. Parker's garden mainly contained berry trees and bushes. It was fairly small and only had a few berry trees in it. Sometimes pokemon got into the garden and hid in the trees. The worst pokemon that had ever gotten into it was a Ariados, which was quickly taken down by Abram.

White peered around a Razz Berry tree and looked toward the back side porch. Her Raichu was laying face down on the porch, apparently sleeping. She couldn't help but snicker at the position Raichu was in.

Hamycus suddenly leapt out of White's arms and snuck up to Raichu. The baby Tepig wiggled his tail before bouncing onto Raichu's back and screamed, "WHATCHA DOING, RAICHU?!"

Raichu shrieked as she bolted up right and leapt a foot in the air. Hamycus squealed loudly as he rolled off the side porch and onto the snowy ground.

"WHAT IN THE DISTORTION WORLD ARE YOU DOING,"  Raichu bellowed at them angrily. "TRYING TO GIVE ME A HEART ATTACK?!"

"We were just saying hello, esh," answered White, kneeling in front of Raichu.

"Well you could do it more quietly!" The Raichu growled, laying back down on her stomach.

"Sure, whatever," White growled. "Have I got any letters at all?"

"Letters?"

Raichu tilted her head, apparently searching her memories.

"I would ask Archy, he's the only one besides you who has left today." Raichu advised as she settled back down.

"What are you doing out here, it's almost ten below zero!" White asked her pokemon.

"The old woman saw that some of her berries were gone and shrieked and hollered at all the pokemon. She told me that I was fat and lazy, and then forced me to watch over her berries for the morning."

"Well she had a point."

"Hardy har har!" snapped Raichu.

White smirked and unlocked the screen door. Hamycus bounded into the forest of berry trees and disappeared behind a Cheri Berry tree. She watched her pokemon for a moment before opening the door and stepped into the house.

Mrs. Parker's house was bigger on the inside than it was on the outside. Compared with the few houses White had ever stepped foot in, her house was a mansion. The door she had come in through led into Mrs. Parker's kitchen. The kitchen was spotless and unnaturally clean. If White ever settled down, this would be the kitchen she would want.

"Mrs. Parker?" White called, looking around the room. "I'm home!"

She heard a shuffling noise in the living room as the door across the room opened.

Mrs. Parker was a small elderly woman, but showed signs of once being a very beautiful woman in her youth. Her brown hair was graying in places and her eyes were a dull gray. She was shorter than White, which was saying something since she was a little smaller than most teenagers her age.

"There you are, I was getting worried!" Mrs. Parker scolded White as she scurried over to the stove where something in a large pot was cooking.

"That darn berry thief was in the garden last night again!" The elderly woman told her furiously.

"So I've heard," said White, walking around the kitchen table to see Mrs. Parker properly. "You seem to be taking this well."

Mrs. Parker glared at her, apparently catching the slight sarcasm in White's voice.

"You will look for the creature, won't you?" Mrs. Parker continued, her voice icy.

"Sure, whatever," muttered White. "Just so you know, Jeremiah is in the oven."

White had to bite her lip to keep herself from bursting into a fit of giggles as Mrs. Parker shrieked and looked into the oven quickly.

"JEREMIAH, IF YOU TOUCH THAT ROAST YOU'LL BE IN BIG TROUBLE YOUNG MAN!" The old woman screamed at the Gengar.

Jeremiah the Gengar gave Mrs. Parker a reproachful look through the oven door and vanished. The Gengar reappeared above White's head to avoid Mrs. Parker's wrath.

"YOU LITTLE RASCAL!" Mrs. Parker bellowed. "NEXT TIME YOU DO THAT AGAIN I'LL-"

"Mrs. Parker," White butted in. "Did I get any mail at all?"

"There is no post on Sundays, deary!"

"Well did one of my pokemon bring a letter or anything?"

Disappointment welled up inside her as Mrs. Parker shook her head. But it quickly vanished as Jeremiah cackled and vaporized in front of White.

"That tiger-dog brought some mail back a little while ago." The Gengar told her. "He's probably in your room."

White nodded and glanced at Mrs. Parker, who had turned her back on her to make sure no other pokemon would try and get past her. The elderly woman knew that White could communicate with pokemon, but it was a bit awkward when White talked to them around her.

She gave Mrs. Parker one last look before leaving the kitchen into the living room. The living room like it belonged in a modern mansion as well. It contained lots of expensive furniture and a large flat screen TV, which had not been used at all since White started living there.

White ran over to the staircase at the back of the room and started racing up the stairs. Most of the bedrooms were on the second floor of the house.

"Archy?" White called as she reached the top of the staircase.

The hallway beyond was deserted, but she heard a muffled bark from one of the rooms. She approached a room on the right and looked inside.

White's room was small and untidy. She didn't have many belongs, except the little things she did own would be considered junk to most people. The only large objects were her bed, a dresser, and a desk. The dresser and the desk were on the side of the room. The dresser mainly held her bag and the few clothes she had. All of her files, notebooks, papers, and other small things were concealed in her desk. Her small bed was pushed against the wall on the opposite side of the room. Her bed was currently occupied by a large Arcanine.

"You left without saying goodbye this morning." said Archy the Arcanine as he noticed White.

"Sorry, I was in a hurry," White replied apologetically, entering the room and walking over to Archy. She sat next to him and rubbed the canine-like pokemon's head. He made a noise between a purr and a growl.

"Did I get any mail at all?" She asked after a small pause.

"Nope."

"Be honest, Jeremiah saw you with some mail today."

"Oh, that blabber mouth!" snarled Archy. "He's a little party pooper, you know that right?"

"Did I get anything from N?" White interrupted sternly.

"No, and I'm being perfectly honest." the Arcanine told her, rolling over to reveal her missing mail.

White scowled as she picked up the letters and flipped through them. There was a newspaper and one letter from two of her friends, Mira Dragonclaw and Leia Jackson. Both Mira and Leia had started traveling around Johto together after Leia became Champion of Unova. They were at least thirteen to fourteen years old, but they had gone through more than most trainers.

"This is probably the first time I've ever seen you so anxious about getting mail from your brother." Archy commented. "Last time you were very eager to throw him off your trail."

"Times have changed, Archy." said White as she skimmed through the newspaper. The only serious thing in it was about a young girl in Kalos who went missing. White thought the missing girl looked a little bit like a younger version of Margaret.

"Has anyone died yet?" asked the Arcanine bluntly. "Or did Ne-Ne get himself captured again?"

"No, he's fine." She growled, throwing the newspaper on the desk and propping her staff up against the wall. "You read this, I don't want to see what's happened now." White added, handing the letter to Archy.

Archy chuckled as he slit open the envelope with his claw and pulled the letter out. A Mismagius named Missy had taught White how to read and write, and the Arcanine had also picked up a bit on how to read from the lessons. Archy started making odd noises as he read the letter.

"Give me the good news first." White told him as he set the letter down.

"There isn't much good news, unfortunately," Archy replied grimly. "The champion has apparently been 'out on business' every time Mira tries challenging the league. This has been going on for months now."

White growled furiously. Mira had been collecting gym badges for over a year just so she could see the champion. White highly doubted that the champion had important business, but how could the other league members just let him be that irresponsible?

"Also, I want you to brace yourself for what I'm about to tell you." Archy said intently after a few moments.

"What happened now?" snarled White irritability as she pulled off her gloves to reveal her real arm and her mechanical arm.

"Promise you won't get mad?"

"I can't promise that."

"Please?"

"I'm going to get mad if you don't tell me!"

"Alright, here it goes: Mira and Leia are coming to Kanto to visit you."

"Wait, WHAT?!" White yelped, almost falling off the bed. Archy flinched a little.

"Leia said there was no point in staying in Johto if they couldn't challenge the league!" Archy whimpered defensively. "She said they were going to try and find another region to start collecting gym badges in! And please remember, you're the one who told me to read the letter!"

"I'm not ready for company, though!" White snapped. "They're nice kids! I'll admit they're troublemakers, but otherwise they're nice kids! But first of all, this isn't my house! I can't just invite them over!"

"Well you can't put them off, they're probably on their way now!" The Arcanine retorted.

White shook her head and laid down on her bed. She didn't hate Leia or Mira, she actually wanted to see some of her old friends, but she wasn't in the mood to see anyone. The only person she wanted to see was her brother.

Her older brother, N, was the former king of an evil organization called Team Plasma. Team Plasma had stolen people's pokemon, and tried to force and deceive others to free their pokemon. Her brother had thought he was doing the right thing until he found out his foster father, Ghetsis, had used him as a pawn. Since N had deserted White to live with Ghetsis in the first place, White had refused to help him and he started to live the same life as White.

Not until two years later did they meet again. Ghetsis had started up Team Plasma again, and was not only trying to reach his goal of liberating pokemon but to seek revenge against White and N. The siblings had teamed up very reluctantly and tried replacing two of the missing dexholders with three rookie trainers: Amos, Leia, and Hugh Jackson. Though they had all gone through a lot of drama and heartaches, they succeeded in taking down Team Plasma and White had gained some new friends and had made up with her brother. However the police refused to clear N's record and he currently lived in the wild as a fugitive.

White finally turned over and looked at Archy. "When are they coming?" She croaked.

"This week, probably near the end of the week," Archy replied, sounding grateful that White had stopped yelling.

White nodded and turned back over again. She felt the Arcanine lay down on her other side. He curled his fluffy tan tail around his trainer.

"I hate living this way, Archy." White growled weakly. "I hate being separated from my friends and family like this!"

"I know..."

"I haven't heard from N since my birthday! That was four months ago!"

"He's trying to protect you, Whitney."

"You call leaving me in the dark about if he's safe protection?! It's torture! This is the first time in years we've been on speaking terms, and you tell me he's doing the right thing by not connecting with me?!"

"No, I'm not saying what he's doing is right, but he's probably under a lot of stress already. He's one of the most wanted criminals around, so it's going to be hard for him to send you letters. He's had a few close calls already."

White didn't reply. She put her head in her hands to avoid looking at Archy. He just didn't understand.

"White, why don't you go to Unova for awhile?" Archy asked intently. "Half your friends are living there and that's probably where N is as well."

"I'm not going back," White sniffed stubbornly. "Its a terrible place. You just want to see your daughter and mate..."

"And I know you want to see Amos." the Arcanine retorted calmly.

She glared at Archy as he said this. Archy and Liliana's egg had recently hatched into a baby Growlithe, and they had named her Ariana. Since Archy was White's Arcanine and Liliana was Amos' they had to take turns having the pup stay with them. Ariana was currently staying with Amos in Unova.

"Please, Whitney?" Archy begged, giving her a pleading look.

White stared into Archy's gaze blankly. He might be an old Arcanine but he could still be cute when he wanted to be. She actually wouldn't mind going back to see her friends. Her friends like Hugh and Sky Blue couldn't exactly come see her since they worked for Professor Juniper, and Amos had become a coordinator since they started Pokemon Contests in Unova.

"Alright, I'll think about." White growled, finally giving in.

Archy's expression brightened and his tail wagged violently. White smiled as he laid his head on her side.

"You're like a big baby!" She joked as she began petting his head. Archy chuckled a little and rolled onto his back.

White rubbed the canine pokemon's belly and his tail wagged faster. White looked out the window behind her to see that half of it was covered in snow from the outside. She could see a group of people walking past the house, chatting cheerfully to one another as they carried they're shopping. White wished her life was as simple as theirs and not full of heartbreak, loneliness, and misery.

~~~

I'M SO SORRY ABOUT THE LATE UPDATE!!!

I have schoolwork to catch up on and Pokemon Alpha Sapphire wasn't helping. It's very addicting -_- Also, I get very unmotivated when I start new stories.

Anyway, here's Chapter 1 of SWS2. I'm sorry if it isn't very interesting ;-; I introduced two out of three of the new characters. There were actually hints in the chapter on who the third main character is.

-Character Profile: White-

In "Spite Without Shame," there was some misunderstanding about White's age and stuff so I'm going to make a character profile for her.

Name: Whitney Joy Gropius (White Copperstone)

Age: 17

Home region: Unova

Family: Elymas Gropius (father; status unknown), Hannah Copperfield Gropius (mother; dead), Natural Harmonia Gropius (older brother; running from the law), Mintha Gropius (younger sister; dead), Gregory and Elizabeth Copperfield (grandparents; dead)

Pokemon: Archy (Male Arcanine), Raichu (female), Tiny (female Espeon), Di-Di (female Gorebyss), Seth (male Serperior), Hamycus (male Tepig), Penelope (female Dewott), Purr (female Liepard), Thundrus (male)

Personality: Harsh, intimidating, can be unfriendly, secretly very emotional

----

I also want to add this about Margaret and please read it: I got to create a character for one of the stories by MewtwoMew, and I used Margaret as the character to go into her story. I'm not very good at making characters at the top of my head and I already made Margaret, so I signed up Margaret instead if making a new character. So if you see Margaret in MewtwoMew's story "Poke'mon: The Irios Region", Margaret wasn't copied.

Ok.... I think that's pretty much it. Again, I'm so so so so SO sorry about not updating ;( I'll try to update over Christmas break, but the next POV is Amos' and his life is boring (no offense, Amos).

So good night, I'll try to update soon! Merry Christmas and good bye for now!

(Nightcore Video: Pokemon Theme Song by Lindsey Stirling)