Chapter 1: Reunions
One boy ran through the mists of Route 210, ignoring the shouts of Trainers looking for a battle. His green vest was tattered and ripped, his black jeans were covered in mud, and several tufts of messy blonde hair poked out from under his cap.
A Noctowl flew beside him, occasionally flapping it's wings to fan away the deep fog. Even at 14, Palmer was obviously a Trainer.
He heard another shout from the side of the rocky trail, but didn't realize that it wasn't another challenge until a young girl ran toward him, calling his name. Palmer waved to his younger sister, and grabbed a Pokeball off his belt.
"You've got your Pokemon with you, right, Cynthia?" he asked, grinning. Cynthia nodded, and pulled a Luxury Ball out of her pocket.
"Then let's battle, I want to see how good you are now!" Palmer yelled, and tossed the Pokeball high into the air. As it landed, a Charmeleon was released. Cynthia sent out a Gible, and waited for Palmer's attack. She remembered his style, and Charmeleon, his starter, would probably have mastered it.
"Charmeleon, use Swords Dance and then Dragon Claw!" Palmer yelled to his Pokemon. Charmeleon immediately began to use Swords Dance, and Cynthia silently watched it, waiting for the right moment. Charmeleon leapt up moments later ready to slash at Gible.
"Gible, use Sand Attack!" Cynthia shouted, and Gible kicked a wave of dirt at the lizard Pokemon, dodging as Charmeleon swerved past it and struck the ground, one claw stuck. "Now use Sand Tomb!"
Charmeleon was immobilized by the combination attack for a moment, but quickly broke free of the sand swirling around it.
"Now, Charmeleon! Use Dragon Claw again!" Palmer yelled to his Pokemon, and Charmeleon charged toward Gible, striking the smaller dragon with a shining claw and knocking it aside.
"Gible, get up, use Sand Tomb again!" Cynthia urged, but Gible lay motionless.
"Cyn, Gible's Knocked Out. The battle's over, unless you have any other Pokemon." Palmer explained calmly. Cynthia shook her head sadly, and returned Gible to it's Pokeball.
"It's okay, Cyn. You did an amazing job of analyzing my strategy and countering it effectively. My Pokemon were just stronger, that's all." Palmer told her, upset by his sister's disappointment. Cynthia merely nodded again.
"Where's everyone else, anyway?" he asked, trying to cheer her up.
"Back at home, I think. Where else would they be?" she answered dully.
"Let's go, then!" Palmer answered, momentarily giving up on Cynthia's mood. He began running toward Celestic Town again, Charmeleon following behind him.
He could hear Cynthia following him, but decided to ignore it. She had always been easily upset by losing.
As he entered the town, Palmer looked around for a long moment. It had been two years since he last returned, and yet everything still looked so familiar. It was still home, just as much as ever. He smiled at the thought. How could it not be? Celestic Town had hardly changed in centuries. A couple of years weren't about to make a difference.
"Excuse me, mister, but who are you?" a small voice asked, and he looked down to see a small boy standing next to him. Smaller, but so similar, Palmer thought, remembering how he had looked at that age.
"Hi, ... Corion?" he asked the child, guessing that it was his youngest brother. The boy cocked his head to one side, clearly analyzing Palmer.
"Yes..." he answered slowly and cautiously.
"What, don'tcha remember me? It's me, Palmer." the older boy explaining, a playful tone deliberately covering his sadness. They've all grown up so much... I should come back more often. It's not fair to stay away from home so long my own siblings don't know me, he thought.
"Oh. Hiya, I suppose." Corion answered dubiously. Palmer could understand his confusion. What did one say to a brother one hardly knew?
Cynthia reappeared behind him, still looking lost and confused.
"Corion, what's wrong?" she asked, oblivious to the awkward nature of the situation.
"Nothing, I guess. Nothing's wrong..." Corion muttered, and kicked at the ground. "But this guy's weird..." he said quietly, apparently only intending for Cynthia to hear him. Cynthia merely adopted an even more confused expression, and walked away toward the Pokemon Center.
As soon as she entered, a boy who appeared to be 9 or so ran out, and charged toward Palmer, grinning absurdly. He had similarly colored hair, and was dressed almost exactly the same way as Palmer.
"Didja bring back more Pokemon?" he asked enthusiastically. Palmer grinned. In his travels across Kanto and Hoenn, he had often encountered Pokemon rarely seen in Sinnoh, and always caught several to give to his younger siblings.
"Yup, sure did." Palmer answered, and headed for the Pokemon Center himself, gesturing for the two younger boys to follow.
Cynthia was still inside, sitting on one of the cushions in the lobby while waiting for her Gible to be healed. She did not even glance at Palmer, until she thought he wasn't looking. He pretended he hadn't seen her tear-filled eyes flick toward him, and walked toward the computer in the corner. Typing in his trainer ID, name, and password, he activated the Pokemon Storage System, and selected three Pokemon.
As the Pokeballs materialized, he handed one to each of the boys, and walked toward Cynthia. She turned away, but Palmer pressed the Pokeball into her hand.
"You didn't fail. It was more than I could have expected." he murmured, and turned back to the other two.
Corion released his Pokemon, a Growlithe, immediately. When he saw the small puppy Pokemon, he leaped into the air and whooped, earning them several irritated looks.
"What did you get, Kerys?" he asked joyfully, poking his older brother. "I betcha mine's better than yours!"
Kerys opened his, and a Chikorita emerged, shaking it's leaf as if happy to be out of the capsule.
"Thank you..." Kerys muttered, and looked at Corion's Growlithe. "Yours can't be better. Pokemon are all equal." he informed Corion, giving him a arrogant look.
Palmer smiled. It was good to be home.
