Unforgivable Errors (Rewrite)

Grace

Meanwhile, back in Vaniville City, a woman named Grace Yvonne was lying on her couch, taking a swig from her third or fourth bottle of liquor. Ever since her daughter's disappearance, the former Rhyhorn racing champion had been in various states of sobriety, although drinking did little to alleviate her pain. 

You reap what you sow, a nasty voice in her head told her. Serena never wanted to be a Rhyhorn racer, yet you forced her to follow your dreams simply because you couldn't stand the fact that your glory days were over. What were you trying to do, live vicariously through her? Whatever you were doing, I congratulate you on your stupidity. You've now driven away the best thing that ever happened to you. I hope it was worth it. 

Grace let out a groan and took another sip from the bottle. She had ruined everything. Her daughter was missing, and she had no way of knowing where she had gone or if she was even alive. And the worst part was, she couldn't go find Serena herself because she was the reason she was missing in the first place. If she tried, she was fairly certain that Serena would either find a way to avoid her, or worse, refuse to come back home. 

You're just a glory hog. That's all you are, the voice told her. You never cared about anyone but yourself. 

Once upon a time, Grace Johnson Yvonne had been a world famous Rhyhorn racer. She had competed at several well-known competitions, and had placed within the top rankings in almost all of them. It may have been narcissistic, but she loved the attention she received from it. She loved hearing her fans whisper in excitement as she walked by, signing autographs, and especially when someone told her they'd been inspired to become a Rhyhorn racer because of her. It wasn't that she was desperate for attention by any means, but her fame gave her a real identity. She wasn't Grace Yvonne, just another Kalos citizen. She was Grace Yvonne, world famous Rhyhorn racer. 

Sadly, all good things must come to an end. When Grace married a man named Matthew Yvonne and then, soon afterwards, became pregnant with Serena, she realized that she would have to suspend her career indefinitely. There was just no way she could raise a child and compete in tournaments at the same time. If anything happened to her during a race, her daughter would grow up without a mother. She just couldn't let that happen. So with a heavy heart, Grace had given one final farewell speech to her fans, thanking them for their support. 

During the first few years of Serena's life, things went smoothly. She was a bright, happy young girl with a fondness for fashion. Grace and Matthew loved watching their daughter dress up in various costumes. It was clear from the beginning that she would grow up to be either a coordinator or a performer, both of which they agreed suited her perfectly. 

However, as time went on, Grace began to yearn for her old glory days again. Of course, she still loved her life with her family, but she missed the thrill of hearing fans cheering her on as she told her Rhyhorn to pick up the pace just a little, hurry up, we can still win this. She missed signing autographs and hearing her name whispered as she walked into a cafe. But most of all, she missed the freedom she had as a Rhyhorn racer. 

The change in her behavior didn't occur overnight. At first, it simply started off with Grace telling Serena stories about her days as a Rhyhorn racing champion. It was typical of a parent to tell their child stories about their lives, so no one thought much of it. As a matter of fact, Serena loved hearing her mother's tales of her days of fame. 

In all honesty, she couldn't say for sure when she became so engrossed in making her daughter into a Rhyhorn racer. Perhaps it was the first time she tried to introduce Serena to the sport, during which the five-year-old promptly burst into tears at the sight of the massive Pokemon looming over her. Maybe it was when she entered seven-year-old Serena into her first competition, which ended with her running away before the race and hiding out in the forest until Matthew finally found her. Whatever the case, all Grace knew was that one day, she had woken up and realized that she had destroyed her own family, in the most insidious way possible. 

Matthew had divorced her when Serena was eight years old, tired of his wife's selfishness and utter disregard for their daughter. He had moved to Sinnoh, and that was the last Grace ever heard from him (although he made sure to call Serena at least once a week). It had hurt, but at the time, Grace had been more concerned with teaching Serena the ways of Rhyhorn racing. 

And for a while, she had managed to delude herself into thinking that things would always be this way. The two of them would continue their lives together, and Serena would grow up to follow in her footsteps. Even when the honey-blond girl started complaining about all the rigorous training, her pleas fell on deaf ears. There was nothing that could ruin the perfect future Grace Yvonne had planned for her only child. 

However...that all came crashing down when Serena ran away. 

When she first discovered her daughter was missing, she didn't worry too much at first. The two of them had just had an argument the night before, and it wasn't uncommon for Serena to hide out in the backyard whenever they had a quarrel. She was certain that, given a few hours, she would come out of her hiding spot and everything would go back to normal. 

But then nightfall came, and Serena still hadn't returned. That was when Grace realized that something wasn't right, and had promptly phoned Professor Sycamore. Unfortunately, the Kalos researcher hadn't had any idea where Serena was, though he did assure her that he would alert the police as soon as possible. 

Now, a search team was still out there, looking for any sign of Serena, and Grace could only hope that she would be brought home safely. 

Two months. Two whole months without a word.