Swanna Girl and Braivary Man 3: The Rogue Hero

Chapter 2: The Last Gift

My hand wrapped around Swanna's Poké Ball as I recalled him. He would've liked being out in the rain, even if it was starting to slow down, but I couldn't have him by my side in public. If someone caught sight of a Unova-native Pokémon out of his Poké Ball, it wouldn't take long for them to figure out who I was. 

Gila and the rest of Team Miasma would be waiting for my return promptly after I'd made the deal. Once back, I'd be expected to go through some training with the Krait twins or research Lantana's whereabouts. Things would be worse than going to the Distortion World, or being on the other end of Yveltal's attack.

Today, I was certain Gila would torture me more than usual. I wasn't ready for that. Not right now at least. Instead, I just shoved my hands into the pockets of my raincoat, kept my head low, and walked around Jubilife City.

It must've looked strange to see a young woman walking down the streets in this sort of weather. I knew I was getting weird looks. When I got close to a store, one man tried to sell me an umbrella for a ridiculously low price. After declining, he tried to just give it to me, but I just kept walking, pulling my cap further down my head to try and hide my face from everyone around me.

The rain was a nice change to the usual partly cloudy weather I'd seen in Sinnoh. As I pass the windows and saw my reflection, I realized the bleak sky made my skin look paler and my hair look shorter than it really was. My gray eyes almost looked black due to how pasty white my skin had become. Scars and bruises were the only things that gave my skin any sort of color at this point. I knew how they got there, but I pushed the thoughts away. There were just some memories that were best left unvisited.

I eventually made my way to a stop sign where a car was driving away. I looked back at the telephone pole that was right next to me, finding a soggy wanted poster with my face on it.

Wanted Dead or Alive

For Crimes of Murder, Assisting Criminals, Theft, and other Misdemeanors

Last Spotted in Veilstone City

They used an old photo I used for my nurse ID badge back when I worked at the Pokémon Center. My face wasn't as pale from lack of nutrients, nor was my hair as short as it was now. Now that I thought about it, I'd never cut my hair in the twenty years I'd been alive. The only reason it was cut was because Team Oblivion had chopped it off. If I wanted to fool them, I had to go along with whatever they wanted. At least now it gave me some sort of disguise, as not many people had caught on to what I looked like with short hair.

My hand threaded through my hair for a moment, reminiscing about the long locks that used to be there. I missed it. I was lucky enough that my hair grew at least an inch or two within four months, but it wasn't growing as fast as I would've liked.

After hearing a car honk at me, probably realizing I was standing there too long, I tore the poster down and crinkled it up. All it would take was for one person to realize I looked exactly like the nurse in the photo for them to realize who I was.

That woman on the wanted posters didn't have to worry about that. I did.

"Miss those days?" an almost hauntingly familiar voice asked from behind.

The wanted poster fell from my hands as I turned around and froze. For years, I was convinced that my parents died when I was only two. With no family relations, I thought I was the last person in my family. It didn't matter—at least, it didn't until I followed in their footsteps, becoming a superhero.

Just days before I left Unova, I learned that I had a brother. I didn't want to believe it at first. He was cunning and untrustworthy, but I couldn't deny the truth. He wasn't much taller than me, with shaggy, mocha colored hair. It was vastly different than my own, but his steel colored eyes were the exact shape and shade as my own.