A pair of eyes snapped open suddenly, radiating with an eerie cobalt aura and illuminating the inky blackness within the depths of the sea. The true blessing of light had never reached the utter darkness of the ocean floor, and even the rare glow of life could not betray its concealment. The creature to which the eyes belonged knew this better than any other. The deep was always dark and always would be…the deep was always calm, not like the surface…the deep could always hide those who wished to…

The ancient creature had spent much time within the cradle of its dominion. Its sleek, draconic form sliced through the water with power and speed, never hindered by the great mass of water. Thoughts raced like lightning, always coming back to the same thing, the same reason why it confined itself there. The words of the other Legendary Pokémon constantly echoed within its mind. The time…it had been spoken of nearly a millennium before…

The story was well known amongst the Order of Legends, though after eons of being passed on, retelling after retelling, it was now more myth than truth. Such thoughts had been the creature’s sole focus; for the legend told of a time when Pokémon and human had lived divided, yet peaceably. Although humans were meant to rule earth, Pokémon were to live alongside them. Many Pokémon resembled the simple dumb beasts of the land, but humans respected that they were sentient, and therefore capable of understanding.

Nonetheless, conflict eventually tore the land apart. The balance between human and Pokémon went up in flames, fueled by the instability of the Order of Legends. Both were to blame, really, but the Pokémon would ultimately pay the price. Their race decimated and civilization destroyed, they would live as though animals. Eventually, the humans claimed the land as their own: the four regions of Johto, Kanto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh.

The creature sighed as it streaked up from the ocean trench like a silver torpedo, the water slowly growing lighter as it rushed for the surface. Remembering the secrets of the past only brought further urgency upon the present. So many myths had been built upon that time, and so much was lost after the war that the legends of the land had nearly died. Yet there was still one more to dominate the four regions, and that was what the creature focused upon.

Pushing all thoughts from its mind, the beast rocketed out of the water and into the cool, salty air. It flapped its mighty wings once and took off into the sky, sailing effortlessly along the streaks of silver clouds that dotted the otherwise cerulean skies. It had been so long since it had last experienced the simple joys of flight. The dragon-bird scanned the ground below with intense brown eyes like that of a hawk, searching intently for the right area. With another wave of its wings, water droplets were drawn around it, forming billowy white clouds around the creature’s body to prevent it from being seen. Fluffy white crystals of snow flecked its sleek, glossy feathers as it came to perch on a fairly low mountain just on the boundary of Johto and Kanto.

At the foot of the eastern side of the mountain was Viridian City—nestled in between dense woods and high hills, its roads and homes bustling with the afternoon rush. The white dragon-bird focused on a slightly less populated area on the edge of the city past the central buildings.

The legends shall reawaken on the eve of the second millennium after the war. And from there shall dawn the new era, with the schism rekindled and the fires of war ignited, only to be smothered by a wave of revolution…

There was not much time—only six and a half years remained. The initiation had begun years ago, but now…now the search would be set into motion. The pact was inevitable, only time would tell which ones would intervene in the legendary affairs. Eight humans, eight members of the order…was it possible? The creature gazed at the city deeply, having many vague feelings about it. For now, at least, events would have to run their course...

I burst through the doors and inside the main office of the school, gasping for breath and clutching my sandy lunchbox in my arms. Why, why, why did I have to leave it on the playground? Was I late for the bus? With a quick glance at the large white clock that hung on the wall, I saw that it was 3:01, but how could that be right? My watch was ahead—that had to be it. That meant I had time to talk with my friends before going home. I spotted my friend Ajia and sprinted down the hallway toward her.

She was a year older than me, but shorter, and with medium-length dark brown hair that was nearly black and dark brown eyes as well. She was wearing a black shirt with several cartoon characters on it and shiny silver pants.

“Hi, Ajia!” I said, walking over and sitting on the bench next to her. “Have you seen Starr?” I asked enthusiastically.

“No, why?” she replied.

“I dunno, I guess I wanna say ‘bye before tomorrow…” I said, my voice trailing off as I glanced along the hallway. I figured I’d rather not risk being late. “I’d better get on the bus now. I’ll see you on Monday!” I yelled. I got up and ran out the main doors.

“Bye,” Ajia said brightly while she went through another exit that led to the street she walked along to get home.

Outside, the single bus was parked on the pavement, its engine roaring loudly as it idly sat unmoving in the parking lot. It was a private school, so not many people rode the bus. I bounded up the three stairs and into the long path with large seats on either side, making my way around legs that stuck out into the walkway and other kids shoving each other out of the seats. I found Starr near the back and sat down next to her.

“Hey, Jade,” she said, glancing up slightly when she saw me. Her short brown hair fell across her face with her leaning forward, apparently an attempt to avoid eye contact. She was also shorter than I was, but only by a little even though she was two and a half years older than me. She wore a shirt of deep violet and a rough jean skirt that barely reached her knees.

As for me, I was tall, and had long blonde hair with light blue eyes. I usually dressed like what the others called a tomboy, mainly because while most of the other girls were into dolls, I liked dinosaurs. Sometimes the other fourth graders made fun of me, though.

I sat there in silence alongside her. The full effect of what was to happen in a few days hit me and I said slowly, “So, this is your last day at school here, right?”

Starr slowly nodded, not really looking up.

“Where’re you moving to?” I asked slowly. I sensed her reluctance to talk about it and almost didn’t want to know.

With a blank, almost emotionless voice, she replied, “Cianwood.”

I sighed as it occurred to me that I didn’t even know where Cianwood was even supposed to be. The bus jerked lightly and started moving forward, shaking up and down with each speed bump in the parking lot, and we sat there silently for several minutes.

“It’s not fair!” I suddenly exclaimed, unable to contain my thoughts. I glanced around, afraid I had brought attention upon myself, but my rant had gone unnoticed to everyone else with all the fighting and yelling going on around us. I turned back and continued. “You only just moved here a month ago. And moving on your birthday? What’s up with that?”

“I don’t know…it’s all my mom’s idea. But my dad’s staying here in Viridian,” Starr said gloomily.

I had a sudden idea and asked, “Did they get divorced or something?” It always seemed like most of the people I knew had divorced parents.

“I’m not sure. My mom keeps saying that she wants me and my brother to have a better life that we couldn’t have gotten here or something like that and never really explains. But I don’t wanna go, and I know Lexx doesn’t either,” she said, referring to her younger brother who was about Ajia’s age.

“So…since you’ll be in Johto for your twelfth birthday, which Pokémon are you gonna get?” I asked, since Starr had passed the Pokémon Handling exam at the end of second quarter in school.

“Probably Totodile. It’s a little blue alligator and I really like Water Pokémon a lot,” she said, smiling for once.

“Cool,” I said, and then realized something. My expression brightened as I said excitedly, “Hey, if you’re gonna be a Pokémon Trainer that means you can travel anywhere you want. Right? So then you can come visit!”

I was glad and there was no other word for it. I had figured out a way around possibly never seeing Starr again.

“Okay, I hadn’t thought of that. It’ll have to be in a while when I get strong Pokémon to protect me while traveling so far, but I will.” Starr paused, as though in deep contemplation. She looked as though she wanted to tell me something else, but then decided against it and remained silent.

The ride continued monotonously like that for what seemed like forever, until finally, it stopped. I shot a glance out the window and saw that we were at Starr’s neighborhood, which was only about two miles away from mine. The time had gone by so fast. I moved to allow her to get past me as she grabbed her backpack and strode toward the front of the bus, turning back and mouthing the word “bye.” I sighed. Why? Why’d Starr have to move? I still wasn’t really sure. But somehow I knew it would be a long time until we saw each other again.