Chapter One 
Black City was the complete opposite to how my family described it. 
"It's a lovely, clean, healthy place. You'll fit in very well there, 
dear." Mum had said before I left the house. 
"Yes, it'll suit you very well. Everyone there are wonderful, polite and 
civilized people. They'll help you out. I've got a friend who lives in 
Black City, here's her number, look, she'll definitely give you a job. 
Mm-hm, so enjoy yourself!" Dad had said confidently before I got on the 
Express Train that cut through deserted land in between Anville Town and 
Nimbasa City. 
"I went there on a school trip, there's nothing to be afraid of. It's 
such a nice place, and you'll almost certainly find work there. And Dad 
knows someone called Cecilia there, you could contact her to see if she 
knows of any jobs around town." My older and rather good-looking brother, 
Sam, told me as confidently as Dad had done before I got off the Express 
Train that stopped at Nimbasa City. 
All of it was lies. I expected bright lights, tall, white-silver 
skyscrapers, big shopping malls and lots of friendly people. Instead, it 
was a dank, dark city with black, traffic-congested roads, grubby, 
chipping office blocks, shadowy people lurking round corners and chewing-
gum and stuffed-binbag infested alleyways. When I stepped through the 
gate to Black City, I could not believe my eyes. I loved my parents and I 
always believed them, but I loved my brother even more so. I felt 
decieved and hurt - why would they send me to a place like this to get a 
job?  
Suddenly, I saw a tall, skinny woman waiting beside the gate. Her dark 
brown hair had been scraped into a smooth, sleek and shiny bun at the 
back of her head. She wore a plain white shirt, a long, black pencil 
skirt, a pair of thin, black tights and black, pointy heels. The woman 
appeared very business-like, but in a beautiful way. Her face was oval 
and white-skinned, and her nose was perfectly straight but rather large. 
She had piercing grey-black eyes and her lips were thin and pulled in to 
a strained line. Overall, she was very pretty, rather intimidating and 
very business-like. Coiled around her stilletto-heeled feet, was an 
equally intimidating and overlarge Serperior. Its mouth was twisted up in 
an uncomfortable smile. 
"Oh, hello." She greeted me unenthusiastically. Her voice was clear and 
cold, with a sharp edge to it. "You are Katrina." She wasn't asking me, 
she was confirming it with me. 
"Yes." I replied stiffly. The Serperior was making me feel uneasy. "Who 
are you?" 
"My name is Cecilia, this is Ivy. I am a friend of your father's. Come 
this way - you are looking for a job here, are you not?" Her Serperior 
unwrapped itself from Cecilia's ankles and hauled itself up onto her 
shoulders as she set off at a brisk walk. 
"Yes." I said again. "Do you know of any, and do you know where I can 
stay?" I followed her, trying to keep up with her unnaturally fast pace. 
"I definitely have a job for you, and in return I will pay you and give 
you lodgings at my house. I'm quite a successful businesswoman in Unova - 
I own all the TV programmes you watch daily, all the bridges in Unova 
(but I have kindly let nearby Gym Leaders have rights to them as well) 
and all the trains in the Battle Subway. I'm very well-known, so I do 
have a job for you." Cecilia gave a short, sharp laugh, then turned a 
corner. I rushed after her, trying to keep an eye on Ivy's flicking tail. 
"What is the job?" I asked, flustered, as she stopped at a large 
penthouse. 
"Ha! It's Sunday, my dear!" She chuckled and patted my shoulder to 
reassure me. Far from making me feel better, I felt worse. It was as if 
she were hiding something from me. "Look, I own this whole penthouse 
here. You can't have the bottom or top floor, I'm renting the 1st floor 
to a worker of mine and I live at the top floor. Here, have the 2nd 
floor." She immediately chose for me without letting me even open my 
mouth. Unlocking the door, Cecilia pocketed the keys and handed me 
another set of them. "Here, take them. The cupboard and the fridge are 
all stocked, so go unpack your things, eat something and have a little 
kip. Bye!" Cecilia left out the door all too cheerfully. 
I headed upstairs to the 2nd floor, unlocked the door and stared. I 
imagined it to be like a proper apartment, since it belonged to such a 
rich person. I thought there would be lava lamps, intricately carved 
furniture, beautiful tapestries and a brilliant view. However, it was the 
total opposite. It was damp and dark inside, dripping with water and wet 
mould. The ceiling was low, the carpet was shabby and stained, and  the 
rooms were tiny, dingy and reeked of something vile that had been 
fermented for too long. The walls were chipped and cracked and, as I 
entered the kitchen, I realized that the fridge no longer worked, the 
taps didn't work, and the cupboards were stocked with ancient, mouldy 
food. 
I went inside the dark bedroom, and threw open the curtains. It didn't 
help brighten the titchy room. I opened my rucksack first, searching for 
my three pokeballs. Oh God! They weren't there, neither were my mobile or 
my home keys! My snacks had also gone, as had all my healing potions and 
sprays... But... Mum couldn't have cleared everything out. Thank God they 
were my back-up ones with Piplup, Turtwig and Chimchar inside. My most 
important ones were inside the lining of my jacket that contained my 
Snivy (named Leaf), Oshawott (named Rain) and Tepig (named Burn). I 
stroked the comforting curves inside the smooth material before tearing 
open my suitcase. Again, Mum had taken out anything that weren't clothes. 
After a few moments of observations, I realized that I was hungry, so I 
zipped my rucksack up, hitched it over my shoulders and left the 
apartment with my keys in hand. Jamming them into my trouser pocket, I 
left the building and stared around the place anxiously. Just ahead there 
was a large roundabout filled with cars puffing evil fumes and honking in 
unneccesarily loud fashions. The road leading out that was nearest to me 
was full of even more grimy cars, beeping and tooting angrily at nothing. 
I spotted the pokemon centre just over the roundabout - how was I to get 
over there? Carefully, I pulled out the pokeball containing Leaf and sent 
her out. She looked at me meaningfully. 
"Leaf, I want you to create a large, but light leaf for me please." I 
told her in a voice barely audible over the huffing of car engines and 
incessant parping of horns. 
Snivy nodded, blinking her beautiful shiny eyes once to tell me she 
understood. Her tail flicked round swiftly and an enormous leaf burst 
from nowhere, hovering in the air at waist-height. Hopping onto the leaf, 
I returned Leaf and sent out Rain.  
"Use Water Gun to shoot us up over the roundabout, Rain." I murmured.  
She nodded, then released a powerful jet of water, which blasted the leaf 
over the congested roundabout. I returned her, then stepped of the leaf, 
which vanished immediately. As I looked at the pokemon centre, I saw how 
unsanitary and dirty the place was. I walked inside to witness Nurse Joy 
shouting at a middle-aged woman with a large Meganium at her side.  
"No, I don't care! Remove that... that... that THING at once!" Nurse Joy 
bellowed at the poor woman. 
"I will NOT! Meganium LIKES it!" The woman boomed back in a voice that 
was twice as loud as Nurse Joy's. 
The Meganium hissed, it's petals flapping and antennae waving. 
"Fine! I will not treat your pokemon then!" Nurse Joy yelled. "Get out! 
OUT!" 
The woman and the Meganium left, barging past me furiously. 
"Whaddaya want?" Nurse Joy rounded on me sharply. 
"I just came here to buy - " I began, startled. 
"Go over there, then." She snapped, pointing to a couple of irritable-
looking salesmen. 
I approached the red-headed one accompanied by a rather moody Pichu. 
"What?" He griped.  
"Can I buy some Lava Cookies, please?" I asked tentatively. 
"Sold out." The man grumbled.  
I suddenly realized that I didn't have any money on me. 
"I'm sorry, I don't have any money." I told him as politely as possible. 
He swore loudly, making an unnecessary gesture with his hand at me. The 
Pichu sullenly turned away. Suddenly, I heard a horribly familiar voice 
behind me, and a firm hand clasping my shoulder. 
"Come on now, honey. Time to go home. No more wanderings for you, my 
dear."  
I whirled around and found myself nose-to-nose with Cecilia. Ivy hissed 
menacingly at me from the floor. Cecilia marched me out of the centre and 
shoved me back in the direction of the penthouse. 
"You are forbidden to go out alone, is that understood? Because if you 
do, Ivy will give you something you'll never forget." Cecilia hissed into 
my ear, droplets of saliva being sprayed over my face. 
Ivy snarled at me, slapping the ground with her tail. 
We crossed the busy road, then went into the penthouse. A muscly man was 
standing there, an annoying smile playing around his lips. Purple-pink 
scars crossed his left cheek and right hand, but they seemed to have 
healed a while ago. I didn't like the look of him. 
"Cecilia." He murmured, kissing Cecilia on the cheek. 
She giggled, but Ivy hissed and slunk up the stairs to the topmost floor. 
"Katrina, this is Morden, my good friend. He is staying with me for now." 
Cecilia informed me. 
Morden gave me a lopsided smirk. 
"Come, now, Cecilia, we have business to be getting along with." He said 
in a deep voice, taking her by the arm and leading her up the stairs. 
Just as I was about to head upstairs to the second floor, the first floor 
door opened. 
A young man stood there, around my age, dressed in filthy clothes that 
were thick with grime and dirt. Despite the disgusting clothing, he was 
extremely good-looking. He had dark, chestnut hair that flopped over his 
face, beautiful hazel eyes and a small, slim, but strong build.  
"Hi." He said quietly. "Do - do you live upstairs?" 
"Y - yes." I muttered. "Um... who are you?" 
"I work for Cecilia." He said. "Wait, I'll tell you inside. Come." 
He led me into an equally vile flat and sat me down on the threadbare 
sofa that smelled weird. 
"Cecilia - she's a monster. She works us overtime, doesn't feed us and we 
live in terrible conditions... we're her slaves... she doesn't pay us, 
she takes away our pokemon and... many have... died... like... my... 
my... sister..." His voice trailed away and he buried his face in his 
arms. 
"I don't believe you. I'm sorry, and I know that Cecilia and that Morden 
guy are a bit creepy, but they're not too bad." I said truthfully. 
"I understand... but you will believe me... soon enough..." He murmured 
into the crooks of his elbows. 
I didn't know what to say. 
"My little sister, Lynette... she was two years younger than me... 
Lynette was pretty, intelligent... and... she was perfect... I loved her 
so much... we came to Black City together for work... we both had no 
money... Cecilia took pity on us and gave us jobs... but we were 
separated and after around 6 months... I heard that... while working at 
one of the bridges... she was... killed... and..." His voice dropped so 
low I could barely hear the last few words. 
He turned away just as the door banged open. I jumped. 
"Oh, there you are, my dear. What are you doing with snivelling James? I 
was looking for you, but you weren't in your apartment... I need to talk 
to you." Cecilia called from the doorway, an icy edge to her voice, which 
was full of contempt. 
I got up, turning to James briefly, but he was facing the other 
direction. Reluctantly, I followed Cecilia out of the room. As we headed 
up the winding staircase, Cecilia began her rant. 
"You are not to speak to snivelling James or anybody else who works here, 
is that understood? You are also not to go out alone, do you hear me? 
Work starts tomorrow, and I have very high expectations. It is getting 
late now, so get some rest before dawn. You heard me, get going." Cecilia 
unlocked my apartment door with my set of keys, threw me inside and 
locked the door from the outside so I couldn't exit. 
 
Chapter Two 
I hadn't slept that much because of the freaky noises like gentle 
pattering from the ceiling, soft moans of the wind and weird squeakings 
from the floor. It was extremely disturbing. However, just as I was about 
to get some decent sleep, I heard the apartment door unlock and Cecilia 
barged into my room with Ivy hissing along by her side. It was 4:05 am, 
for crying out loud! 
"Goodness me, you aren't making much of a first impression. Up, now, come 
on." She snapped, clicking her fingers as Ivy released an annoying, 
choking chortle. 
I got hurriedly got dressed and went into the kitchen to find her with a 
bowl filled with something or other. Ivy sniffed and slithered out of the 
apartment huffily. 
"Your breakfast. Now hurry up, you have duties to be getting along with." 
She said sharply. 
I took the bowl and saw that for my breakfast, it was a bowl of dirty 
water with an old bread crust inside. Nevertheless, I was hungry, so I 
ate and drank it all, then looked expectantly at Cecilia. 
"Good, good. Now, since, I'm busy today, Morden will drive you to 
Driftveil Drawbridge so you can operate the bridge's mechanic whatnots." 
She told me in a very brisk voice, dragging me out the apartment and 
pushing me down the stairs. 
"I - I don't know how to work bridges!" I protested in a stammer as I 
stumbled outside onto the pavement. 
"Oh, dear. Well, you'll just have to make do." Cecilia said in an 
unconvincing tone. 
Despite the early hour, the roundabout was as clogged as ever with 
traffic. A blue pickup truck was waiting on the kerb (illegal, but 
obviously not in Black City) with Morden inside. We approached him 
quickly. 
"Cecilia!" He cried delightedly in his manly tones. 
"Morden, my dear." Cecilia cried in an equally joyous voice.  
"Will you be accompanying us, my darling?" Morden asked, as Cecilia poked 
me into the passenger seat. "The scum - sorry, Katrina, can sit in the 
back." 
"No, I will be on television today for an interview, so I must be getting 
along. You will come to drive me to Jubilife City?" Cecilia asked 
politely. 
"Of course, Cecilia dear." Morden smiled in a very creepy way. "Now we 
should go. I will see you later, darling." 
"Goodbye, Morden." Cecilia smiled back, then walked off. 
At the moment, Morden revved up the engine, pulled dangerously out onto 
the road and swerved round the roundabout past many annoyed drivers 
before accelerating much too fast down a surprisingly empty road leading 
out of town. 
"Heh heh. Cecilia knows your parents, doesn't she?" Morden sneered, his 
knuckles white from gripping the wheel. 
"Um, yes." I said nervously. 
"Well, if you must know, there's been one death already at Driftveil 
Drawbridge, but Cecilia will do everything within her power to keep you 
alive. She promised your parents." Morden's voice was somehow tainted 
with a jokey edge. 
"Uh, okay." I said hesitantly. 
Then I realized that the strange boy's (James, Cecilia had said) sister  
Lynette was the one who died there. But how? Did she go for a wander 
around the bridge, someone went inside the control box and opened the 
bridge so she fell to her death or was squeezed to death? Was she having 
a break, then was pushed off the edge of the bridge? The possibilities 
were endless. Soon I found myself drifting off to sleep, where I dived 
off a bridge and got trapped between the two boards. I was screaming my 
head off, but nobody was there. All of a sudden, there was a pretty girl 
in front of me, slightly translucent and floating - wait, what? She was 
translucent and floating?! That meant she was... a ghost! But... they 
didn't exist... or did they? I moved away from that chilling thought, 
then focused on her looks. She was immensely pretty, with dark curls 
(that reminded me of someone) falling past her shoulders to meet her tiny 
waist. She was slim and small, but seemed to emanate a powerful air.  
"Katrina." She said quietly, moving closer to me.  
I stopped screaming and writhing to realize that it actually wasn't that 
painful. Scary, yes, but painful, no. 
"H - how do you know my name?" I cried, wiggling my toes a bit. 
"It doesn't matter. What does matter is that my brother was telling the 
truth. I am his deceased sister Lynette. I died here at the hands of 
Cecilia." She murmured, her hair blowing around in the cool breeze. 
"You! James told me about you..." I trailed off.  
James was right about her being very pretty. 
"Please. Believe him. Trust him. For me." Lynette whispered, pearly tears 
rolling down her cheeks. 
I drew breath to reply, but she dissolved into nothingness. 
"Lynette!" I bawled like a maniac, resuming my mad shrieking and 
flailing. 
The wind howled loudly, and a pokemon feather was blown about till it 
landed in my hair, but I was too busy screeching and wriggling to take 
notice of its presence... 
I woke up with a start in the pickup truck. Morden had just driven over a 
speed bump. He turned to me, smirking. 
"Wake you up, did I?" He grinned, then turned back to the road. 
I shivered as I recalled the dream. Was it real? Suddenly, I was aware of 
something in my hair. Warily, I pulled it off and realized that, with a 
sudden jolt in the pit of my stomach, it was the pokemon feather that had 
landed on my hair in the dream. 
 
Chapter Three 
"You know you fell asleep?" Morden sniggered as I hastily stuffed the 
feather into my trouser pocket. 
"Yes." I said defiantly, fixing my gaze on the long, winding road 
stretching out ahead. 
"Heh heh heh. You're just like your mother, you know. Pretty, smart..." 
He chucked my chin, making me flinch away. 
"Heh heh. Your mother, Wilhemina. We used to date back in Year 10." 
Morden smiled in an overly contented way as I choked on my own saliva. 
"You what?!" I spluttered, whirling round to face his unshaven, scarred 
and smirking visage. 
"Didn't last too long, though. She realized your father, Squeamish 
Stephen - I mean, Stephen Morissey, was much more worthy than me," Morden 
spat viciously out the rolled-down side window, "the little scaredy-cat, 
your father was." He added poisonously. 
I didn't say anything; my brain was still processing the horrible idea of 
Morden and my mother Wilhemina dating. 
"Of course, I met Cecilia in university. Love at first sight. Heh." 
Something like pride flickered over Morden's face as he announced this 
piece of news with relish.  
My brain struggled over the news.  
"We were both smitten. I know now that Cecilia is much better than your 
mother, no matter how pretty or clever she was, or is." Morden said in a 
satisfied voice, then he fell silent. 
"My mother... Wilhemina... will always excel Cecilia..." I snarled at 
him. 
He chuckled fondly in a very annoying way. 
"That's what you say, Katrina. You won't in a few months... no, actually, 
maybe a few days. Cecilia's power over Unova is never to be 
underestimated. Heh." Morden smiled.  
There was silence for a few minutes. 
"Like I said, you're just like your mother. You've got her beautiful 
chocolate eyes, full lips, perfect nose, porcelain skin... and Squeamish 
Stephen's stupid poker-straight hair. Greasy fucker." Morden's last 
comment was voiced in an angry growl. 
Affronted by Morden's rudeness about my father, I turned on him. 
"My father has never been and will never be scum enough to be subjected 
to your...  your... taunts." I said in a low voice. 
Much to my horror, Morden roared with laughter. 
"He was bullied in school, you know. He had a phobia of, what was it now? 
Oh, yes, insects. Yes... we used to bring him fresh insects every day at 
break times... That's what earned him his nickname..." Morden smiled as 
he reminisced back to the 'good old days'. 
"We?! You stupid pig! How could you?! " I shrieked at him, beside myself 
with anger. 
I  had a strange urge to kick him in his special place to vent my 
feelings about the topic. 
"Hey, calm down, Katrina. It stopped when we realized that he was good 
enough to get Wilhemina as his girlfriend. He was a chicken, he needed it 
to toughen him up a bit." Morden chuckled as if nothing had happened. 
"Oh, and that doesn't matter now, does it?" I spat venomously. 
"We're here now." He drawled idly, changing the subject. 
"I - " I began, then was cut off by my own sharp intake of breath at the 
sight of the marvellous bridge in front of me.  
We were here.