Pokemon Fanfiction: Chasing the Stars

Chapter One

        Leia woke up with a start. What time was it? Her curtains were drawn back, but it was surprisingly dark.  Through the darkness, Leia saw a small sliver of sunlight breaking through her dark curtains. Leia, still half asleep, rolled over to look at her digital clock. Unfortunately, her foot caught on the end of the blanket, and she tumbled off the bed, tangled in a mess of sheets. Leia gave a yelp of surprise and tried to kick her way out of the predicament, but ended up getting even more tangled. After several attempts, Leia finally squirmed her way out of the blankets. Leia's bare feet were freezing, as she stood up to check the time.

5:46 AM.

Leia groaned. She could've slept another 3 hours! Leia flopped back onto her bed. She lied there, staring at the lights above her. Leia would've lied there in that position for the rest of the morning, but the cold interfered, sending shivers up her arms. Leia rolled off the bed, almost slipping on the sheets again, and went to the bathroom. She flicked on the light and stared at the girl in the mirror.

Tangled mess of auburn hair piled on top of a face that always seemed not good enough. The only thing Leia liked about her appearance was the eyes. Her eyes were constantly changing from blue to green, swimming in a mesmerizing way. Right now they were a bland olive green. Leia sighed, and struggled to comb through the mess. On a good day, she would win the fight between her hair and herself and could get the tenuous job of combing her hair down in only ten minutes. Today it seemed it would take much longer. Oh well. School wouldn't start until 9.

When combed all the way, and not lying in tangles on her head, Leia's hair reached her waist. Leia stared at the clumps of hair tangled on the hairbrush. Leia remembered when she first saw the clumps, she was scared she was going bald. Now, it was just another thing to add to her list of issues. Leia always wanted think, glossy, hair like her mother. Instead she got the dull, brown, thin hair of her father, whom she never even knew. He went on a journey and never came back.

After a few splashes of cold water to her face, Leia walked back to her bed room. She straighted her bed, rearranging the sheets. It was mid- Feburary and Leia used two quilts and an extra blanket. This wasn't even the coldest time in the year at Nuvema Town. Leia hated the cold.

Leia put on her slippers and trudged downstairs for breakfast.

She wasn't quite used to the quiet in the empty kitchen. Usually it was filled with her mother frying up eggs for breakfast, or her sipping coffee reading the morning newspaper. Now it only had a lonely table with  more chairs than people in the house. The oven and cooking tools layed unused. Leia snagged a bag of bread from the cabinet and set two slices to toast, as she ate a third with a cup of milk. Leia turned to the TV, where her mom would watch the news. She turned it on and sat at the table with her cup of warm milk.

After surfing the channels she found a battle was being televised live from a Gym. Leia recongnized the 6th gym leader, Brycen. The battle was close, but Leia could tell Brycen had the upper hand. Leia let her thoughts drift away. Pokemon were common in this world. You could find a Purrloin dancing in the grass by the houses in Nuvema. Even the televised series of Ash Ketchum, the world-famous trainer for exploring and discovering regions all over the world. Most of the series was actually wasn't true, but it was good for sales. Leia owned all of the games the Pokemon company had made. Her mom would always get her them as soon as they came out. Now she was behind on the series by two games. There was a television shoot in her own town sometimes. Leia enjoyed the games but they were, like the series, unaccurate. Leia knew one day, like her mom, she would set off on her own journey. Leia wasn't exactly thrilled. She missed her chance three years ago when her mother was sick, and she didn't want to try again. She prefered the saftey of her own house. Sure, Leia could tell you all about the world of Pokemon, but that didn't mean she wanted to be part of it. A loud cheering broke Leia out of her thoughts. Brycen had won.

Of course, he did. Leia always could tell who would win. Based off the pokemon each trainer had, how well their pokemon were trained, how healthy they looked, and the determination of the trainer. Every detail was important. Nothing was overlooked by Leia's eyes. Leia washed the cup and ate the toast. She wasn't hungry anymore.

Leia walked over to the living room. She knew in normal people's house, the living room would be a place of joy and warmth, but in her living room, dust filled the couches. Only one corner layed still clean. Leia cleaned it every day. Leia opened the cabinet to reveal the two pictures. Leia deftly lit the candles under the pictures and watered the flowers.

Kneeling down, Leia put her hands together and bowed her head. Praying to god she didn't believe in for the saftey of people who were dead. The irony.

Leia walked to the fridge and took out a cake. White with pink frosting roses. Her mother's favorite. Leia cut the cake and sat beside the cabinet in her living room. Her mother's and father's shrine. All Leia had left of her parents except bones buried in the cementary. Her father's grave didn't even have a body. Just a tombstone.

Leia ate the cake, even though it was cold.

"Happy Birthday, Leia." She whispered to herself, even though she knew, even here, no one, not even her mother and father, could hear her.