Sapphire Aura: Prelude

Chapter 1

Spark was a promising little bird, friendly but fierce at the same time. A great partner for a beginner. Which he found in the girl's lost spirit. He recalled what had happened only a few minutes ago vividly, unsure if the girl had heard his call.

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(Pokespeech on)

"Busky?" Spark chirped. "Where are you? Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Spark was playing a game of hide and seek with his older brother...

...that is, in his thoughts.

In actual fact, Busky had been captured by Team Magma a few months back, and Spark, being the helpless and cowardly chick he was, ran away. Not something he would usually do from a problem, especially one that involved his only relative, but looking at the amount of high-tech gadgets that Team Magma owned, he panicked and fled the scene, leaving his brother uselessly clawing at a metal cage.

He didn't want to ever relive that moment again.

And that was when it happened. A girl materialised out of nowhere, sitting on the forest floor. She seemed to be around ten years old. Clearly, the forest was unfamiliar to her, and she broke down immediately. Expectedly. Well, she was only so young.

That was, as well, the defining moment when Spark finally remembered the fateful day after the abduction, the moment when a strange man popped up out of nowhere beside him and told him to take care of a blue-haired girl sometime in the future.

The unfamiliar girl in the forest—that was her.

Spark wondered what had happened to her. Girls just didn't materialise out of nowhere and land on a random patch of grass in this forest. Still, despite the weirdness and awkwardness of the whole situation, Spark decided to help her, understanding what it felt like to be left alone in a place you didn't know, with no one at your side.

"Are you okay?" Spark wanted to ask in a small voice. He knew that the girl was unlikely to be able to understand him, but he still tried nonetheless. After all, if he could attract the girl's attention, it would be great, or maybe not so great.

He didn't really know what to do as memories of the day his own brother was abducted came flying back to him.

Taking in a deep breath, he acted. "Are you okay?" he chirped. He was sure, though, that no one had heard him over the sobs of the poor girl.

Or had anyone?

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Sapphire did stop crying. It seemed as if she had noticed Spark, which she had. "Who are you?" she asked. "Tor-Tor-Torchic!" the little Pokemon replied. To Sapphire, the words meant something, rather than the meaningless ramble it usually seemed to other trainers.

"Your name is Spark?" Sapphire asked. The Torchic nodded enthusiastically, trying to appear as friendly and approachable as possible. Sapphire cracked a smile at Spark. "Spark. I like it. That name's got a nice ring to it."

"Chick-chick chirrrick!" Spark seemed to agree with her.

"Okay, so where am I?" Sapphire queried, desperate to know.

"Torchic, torch-chic tor tor, churiiiick..." In an unmarked forest somewhere in Hoenn. I have no idea which part of it though... "Thank you," Sapphire replied. "At least if we head any side, we'll eventually come to the edge.

"Tor!" Spark chirped happily.

Sapphire tickled Spark and laughed, her plight totally forgotten. "Then what are you waiting for? Let's go!" Spark hopped onto her shoulder, eager to get out of the gloomy place and shake off all the bad memories that had been created in the forest.