Pokemon Heart and Mind: The Persici Prequel

Chapter Eight: New Beginnings

Chapter Eight

New Beginnings

Songs

Breakaway, by Kelly Clarkson

*Same day, Persici Region, Pirate Port City*

Maria was not going to look back. Not right now.

She gripped the straps of her backpack tightly in her fists, and glanced over at her twin sister Mary. Mary kept glancing back nervously. It wasn't surprising, by any stretch. Mary had always had a stronger bond with their father, despite his issues. Leaving him in rehab and setting out on their own journey was not an easy decision, even for Maria. As much as there was a strain on their relationship, she still cared for him. But for right now, she was done as she could be. There were only so many times someone could keep giving out chances.

Officer Jenny had given the sisters two choices: get put in the foster care system, or become Pokemon trainers and go on a journey.

Maria and Mary had always wanted to be trainers, so they chose the latter.

As they walked away from the rehab center, silence sat between them. They both carried brand new backpacks containing Poke balls, toiletries, some money, and snacks, given to them by Officer Jenny herself.

At age fourteen, the two had basically raised themselves. Somehow, they both managed to stay out of the local gangs. The two girls mostly kept to themselves, and worked hard in school. Not that they never had any friends, but they, and their friends they did have abided by these unspoken rules:

Don't be outside past 5:00 pm.

Don't enter spots that are prominent gang areas if you can help it.

Don't wear red, yellow, or black outside of your house. (Maria lamented this as black and red were her favorite colors.)

Don't go out alone. Ever.

Never walk outside without some kind of weapon or Pokemon.

Maria was actually extremely grateful to be leaving her Dad in someone else's hands for now. She could now do what she wanted to do, and give Mary the chance to worry more about herself for once. They wondered what adventures lay ahead of them, and what kind of Pokemon they would meet. What kind of friends might they make?

Maria actually looked forward to that. This was the first time that she could make friends without a pretense of fear underneath. With so few people around that she could trust growing up, it would kind of be a relief to maybe let her guard down for once. If people were anything like Officer Jenny, and the kindness she showed to her and her sister, she was definitely hopeful about the future.

They were both also looking forward to getting out of Pirate Port City soon. The city itself had a lot of really neat things in it, but, when you're a couple of poor kids, you don't exactly get to see that stuff much. But with all the memories here associated with everything that happened the past year, and their life as a whole, getting out of it was going to be a welcome change.

They made their way down the street, and Mary was the first to speak up. "We don't have any idea what we're getting into, do we? I mean, we've never actually left town before except once. This is really scary."

Maria glanced at her sister again, and gave her a sad smile. "Yeah, but we were given an opportunity to leave and make something of ourselves for once." She paused, and placed a hand on Mary's shoulder. "In a way, we should be thankful that this finally happened. We can live our lives the way we want without worrying about all the dumb things we had on our plates. We can make friends, train and raise Pokemon, and we don't have to be constantly on the alert about Dad and his crazy mood swings, or the people in our neighborhood. Right now, I think leaving is a huge blessing and the best thing that could possibly happen for us, mi hermana."