She couldn't sleep; her bed wasn't comfortable in the least; she could feel some of the loose springs digging into her lower back, causing her to flinch every time. 'How did any of the others sleep' She thought to herself as she climbed out of bed to inspect. The frame was bent, giving it a "twisted" appearance, it then dawned to her that the previous owners weren't that big, so they only occupied a fraction of the bed. That's how things worked here, kids would either be adopted or turn 18, and everyone in the orphanage would rotate rooms.

The rooms were a roll of the dice, you either got the right furniture and a bad view, or you'd get lousy furniture and a good view. Of course, there was the case where you could get a good view and suitable furniture, but be right next to the headmistress room. She was an ok lady, but she snored when she slept; in most cases, no one could tell the difference between her or Snorlax.

Her room happened to have a beautiful view of the town elevated so she could peer into the streets but also catch the ocean reflecting iridescent rays from the moon. Periodically she could see Wailmer and Wailord breach from far off, here they tend to be more active at night so they could frolic without running into a human surfing. The Pokemon would presumably eat, mate, and then disappear beyond the reaches of the island. Such Freedom.

The Island, Pambello Island, was a resort on the fringes of the Terran Region and Orre. People from all over came here for rest and reprieve. The people who lived here typically spent there days prepping for the busy seasons, when hordes of tourists would come to buy items that were native only to this island. What was usually a huge draw was when the Pokemon League Champions from other regions visited the island from time to time. The Terran region was small dwarfed in size by the likes of Orre and Sinnoh, but what made this region different from all the rest was Pokemon Training was outlawed. To even own a Pokeball was a crime here, it was seen as discriminatory toward the pokemon populace. The Champions from other regions would rent huge ocean liners and host battles on international waters; events that typically sold out within minutes. The subject of Pokemon Training was a highly contested issue, but "wild" pokemon simply didn't exist here.

The sound of her door swinging open reeled her back in as she turned to see the headmistress with a giant bowl of udon standing at the threshold. "Oh Scarlet, you should be sleep! You don't wanna be late for work tomorrow" She advised, but she didn't have to sleep on that horrid bed.

"This new bed sucks. It's like sleeping on a Jolteon" Scarlet lamented. "Oh? I will have Arthur look at it in the morning. You are welcome to come to sleep with me" Scarlet's eyes nearly fell from her sockets at the invitation before transitioning into a more shy nature. "No, No No, it's fine I'll just stretch out on the floor. Besides, I don't wanna wake you with my snoring" She managed to save herself as the hefty woman wished her goodnight before closing the bedroom door. 'That was close' She thought ripping her blankets from the bed before curling up on the floor.

----

"Alright, I'm off to work!" She called out before sprinting out the door, the headmistress had a knack for making her change outfits. The headmistress was old school, she didn't like 'her' children roaming around in light blue denim shorts and a white spaghetti string tank top, but Pambello was ruthlessly hot during the day. Temperatures around the island could easily reach 98 degrees by 8 am, and don't let there be a heated argument between Torkoal because they made it hotter.

She worked at a "Poke-Center" on the south side of the island which was 45 minutes from where she lived, a 45-minute walk was a 13-second train ride on the bullet train. The Bullet Train was new, it connected Orre and Terran together, construction on more tracks recently begun to connect Terran with the distant Johto and Kanto Regions, but that was still far off.

Despite the name, the "Poke-Center" was a medical hospital ran mostly by Pokemon it's official name was the Pambello Island Emergency Center where she worked as a medicine stocker.

She got the job a couple of years back, one of the Alakazam's she met put in a good word for her, and she got the job. Since then she'd been saving up her money to attend one of the major universities in Terran after she turned 18.

"Good Morning Scarlett! Just a couple more days and you'll be 18!" The receptionist called as she walked past. He was typically a cheery old man, but for some reason he comments, today seemed...creepy. She gave a faint smile before pressing the button for her floor.

'Has it really been 10 years?' She thought with her head pressed against the back of the elevator. "Gard!" Her eyes immediately shot open as she'd missed Gardevoir's presence in the elevator. "Hey! get out of my mind!" She rebuked causing the intrusive pokemon to scuttle off the elevator at the next stop.

"I can't believe so much time has passed," She said out loud this time. Scarlett was set to turn 18 in a couple of days going to university was her goal, but she could never dismiss the series of events that brought her to this region in the first place.

For her 8th Birthday, her parents decided to take a cruise from Mosdeep City to Maudeville City. She remembered not wanting to go, because her sister wasn't coming with them. She had a great time until a bunch of raging Gyrados summoned a twister and sent the ship to its demise--her parents with it.

She was saved however by a very crafty Pokemon Trainer, and for whatever reason, she brought her to Terran. Where she'd been ever since. The elevator door buzzed open but Scarlett's thoughts remained on her sister, was she still alive? Did she look for her? Did she even care?"

The seriousness of her thoughts was lost on Machamp as he scared the living daylight out of her as she entered the office. "WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM!" She snapped as the group of Machamp and the one Pangoro carried on laughing.

She was the only human in the office so the Pokemon typically played practical jokes on her. At 5'11 she towered over the 5'2 Machamp, but her physical dominance stopped there; she'd have to coordinate with Alakazam to get the payback she rightfully deserved. "You guys play too much! We have a lot to do today." She said placing her lunch in the refrigerator as she did her eyes made out someone digging through the trash in the window outside.

"Hey!" She called out before storming outside to confront the person. It was a woman in a white lab coat, she was shorter than Scarlet with matching brunette hair, beautiful bronze skin but where Scarlet's eyes were a tint of red; this woman's eyes were almost hazel.

"Ooop looks like You've been found!" She called out which didn't make any sense to Scarlet. "What are you doing in the trash? Do you work here?"

"Well she's looking to see what will be useful, but she does not work here." The woman said wrapping her left arm around what appeared to be old radio sets.

"Why are you talking like that. You know what I'm calling security" Scarlet turned around but the woman tossed something in her direction, out of instinct Scarlet caught it but then dropped it when she realized what it was.

"A Pokeball?" The ball shook and opened with a bright white light, providing the perfect cover for the woman to vault over the fence and disappear.

The light Materialized a small green Pokemon, one not native to the island. "Tree!" The pokemon yelled out gleefully. From high up, she could hear the distress call from Wingull as it cried out at the sight of the Pokeball.

"Wait... no! this isn't what it looks like" The Machamp she'd worked immediately entered the back alley to block her in. "Wait, guys! you know me!" She lamented, but all they saw was a human with a Pokeball and worse a wild pokemon. In her fear the Treeko launched itself in front of her prepared to defend against what it perceived to be attackers.

The Machamp ran in fear, they weren't used to "Wild Pokemon" Scarlet turned to see the woman had got away, thanks to Wingull she needed to get away too. She took a few steps before remembering the Pokeball, it had her prints on it! Picking the ball up off the ground she commanded Treeko to return before dashing off leaving her job.

TBC