From: Zephyr <eternalwinds@hotmail.com> Subject: [PW!][LEAGUE] The Huntress Moon Date: Sunday, February 06, 2000 1:30 PM Julia awoke to the dimly lit room, her belongings scattered around the room. The huntress moon shone brightly as it provided the room with a dim light. There was an envelope on Julia's nightstand, on it, her name and "The Pokemon League" were scribbled on. Tenderly opening the envelope, as not to rip its belongings, a small slip of paper fell out. It was a note. Questioning the note's importance Julia read it thoroughly before discarding it. She was to fight her next opponent, who went by the name of Gads, tonight at Indigo Stadium. Julia walked over to the closet, her heart ached, the memory of Sapphire still fresh and forever engraved. She had to move on if not for herself then for her pokemon. They had grown restless due to the lack of training and battling. She had to give her pokemon a chance and battle Gads if not they would atrophy and be nothing more than pets. True, a pokemon wasn't just a battler it was a companion but there had to be a balance between the two. Care for it too much and the pokemon will grow dependent and weak. Battle it too much and it will grow aggressive and too independent it will become disobedient. Julia knew that and she had to try and maintain that balance. After dressing Julia made her way to the stadium. The resident Nurse Joy was still awake and alert, next to her a big empty pot of coffee. The cold winds blew as Julia stepped out from the Center. Julia's trenchcoat was tightly tied as to protect her from the winds. Though it was near midnight people were still out, either partying at the local club or waiting for the next battle to begin. Flashes were to be seen as people grouped together to have their pictures taken with a stuffed Chansey. The man in the costume obviously was bored and annoyed at the people for degrading him. But alas, it was all he had as a job and for that he was grateful. Julia looked around, as she came to conclusions on why people were here, on why they did that, and on why they lived that way. The sight of a small girl caught her eye. She had fallen and her parents were unaware. She suddenly began to cry and asked to be picked as she had scraped her knee. Her parents replied with an annoyed look as they did not want to be bothered. Julia sighed, she remembered her parents perfectly but it seemed odd. Her memory of them was too perfect, too vivid to have existed. She didn't care anymore she had no family. If she did she would turn away from them as they did to her. All, if not most of her memories of them were negative and never was there a memory of Julia actually smiling or laughing with them. More pain entered her heart as she was flooded with memories. She had no one to talk to about things like this. She tried talking to her friends at Pokemon Tech, but they were deemed incapable of taking anything serious. The same went for her family, they couldn't or wouldn't understand because they were too involved with each other. All Julia was to them was a mule. A mule that would bear their emotional suffering only and not her own. More and more weight was added, as Julia recalled. But she couldn't reflect back on her past mostly because she did not want to. Julia had to focus on the match. She only had three pokemon; oddish, seel, and spearow. She hoped that her opponent would be sympathetic and use three also. Julia soon arrived to the stadium, its blue light glowed as the crowd within it roared. The ongoing battle was over and it was time for her battle. The parade made its last turn over to the stadium as the few people outside Indigo Stadium looked on. They seemed almost hypnotized, as if the lights and sounds had fulfilled them and made them one. A loud siren was heard as the Late Night Parade begin. Almost as ghosts the floats appeared from the night and made their way down the boulevard. The music playing was not like the happy go lucky heard during the day, this music had gloomy tune to it almost eerie in nature. People still cheered on as the parade marched on, whether it was the alcohol or adrenaline people were enjoying themselves despite the cold weather. "All these lights, sounds, and images will never fill my emptiness. No matter how colorful, vivid, bright, or loud they are they do not amuse me. My mind isn't simple anymore, I suppose from loss one learns something. But I haven't, if not I have actually forgotten. Forgotten what it is to have family, to have acceptance, to have something. No, all I have is loss, just loss and pain" and with that Julia entered Indigo Stadium. Zephyr