Early Beginnings
Little Whinging was a small and unassuming town. Located to the Southwest of Turffield at the base of the mountain that Galar Mine ran through, but not too close to the sea, it was well removed from the hustle and bustle of the major cities and larger towns and that was how the inhabitants of Little Whinging liked it. Despite not living through the time where giant pokémon ran amuck and large teams of trainers had to be deployed to chase them off, the stories of those times lived on as they were passed from parent to child. The closest Little Whinging came to a Power Spot was Turffield, so although they themselves didn’t regularly suffer damage from wandering giants their resources (supplies, workers, and competent trainers) were drained trying to aid the larger and more affected Turffield. After the truth about the giant pokémon was discovered and the immense energy of the Power Spot explored and channeled, things turned around for Turffield. It became the host location of a major gym (as at the time all the major gyms shifted to being located on a Power Spot and Dynamax and Gygantamax became integral parts of the Gym Challenge) and grew with all the benefits that came with it. The protection of a Gym Leader, increased tourism, an influx of people seeking to live and work there and more all went to Turffield while their longtime supporter, Little Whinging, was left behind.
Yes, Little Whinging had always been smaller than Turffield (and probably would have remained smaller anyways), and yes they also gained benefits from having such a strong gym nearby (it was the responsibility of the Gym Leader and those working for the gym to protect not only the location they occupied, but also the surrounding towns, villages, and natural areas), but in their eyes they were cheated of their proper due. It was an attitude that had lingered long past the initial growing pains as the rest of Galar changed around them and while not on bright display it was obvious in the current populace if one was looking closely. Some parts of the town were better than others with people acting quite normal, but Privet Drive was not one of those places. Uniformity was encouraged and praised as it left everyone on ‘equal ground’ while in reality everyone was trying to do one better than everyone else. Jealousy abound while bragging and gossiping functioned as common pastimes.
It was an atmosphere much enjoyed by Vernon and Petunia Dursley, looked on with indifference by their son Dudley, but found to be incredibly stifling by their niece Harriet (or Harri as everyone called her). Harri had never seen a point to the boasting and posturing performed by the adults and mimicked by her peers, but that could have had more to do with her circumstances than anything else. It was a well known fact, after all, that Harri was an orphan who her most generous Aunt and Uncle had graciously taken in (never mind that her ‘room’ was a cupboard under the stairs, or that even at the tender age of five she’d been given most of the housework as chores while her cousin did nothing except make things more difficult for her). They’d made sure that everyone knew that Harri was the daughter of two irresponsible drugged up trainers that had gotten themselves killed messing around in poaching operations and illegal pokémon fighting and that despite their best efforts she was shaping up to be just as much of a degenerate. It wasn’t her fault that pokemon acted strange whenever she was around or that weird things happened if she was scared or upset, but try telling that to her relatives.
Harri had never understood why her Aunt and Uncle were so weird about pokémon when it came to her. They’d both gone on brief journeys and still had a pokémon each (her Aunt’s Gossifleur was fun to garden with, but her Uncle’s Corvisquire had a nasty temper) and they were ok with Dudley becoming a trainer as long as he stayed local until he was 16, but whenever Harri so much as looked at a pokémon for too long she was in trouble. Her Uncle loved to bellow that as long as she lived under their roof she was forbidden from anything involving pokémon. Taking the license test (available to 10 year olds to certify them as being able to receive their first pokémon and making them eligible for attending a trainer school or starting a journey) was out of the question. It wasn’t fair and it made the time Harri got to spend away from her relatives all the more precious. That was why, unlike most other 7 year olds, she enjoyed going to school.
Little Whinging, like other smaller towns surrounding Turffield, had its own school for Year 1 and Year 2 (as well as a few day care centers for watching younger kids), but a school for the second half of Primary as well as the local trainer school and regular Secondary school was located in Turffield. School back in Little Whinging was lonely, Dudley made sure of that. When he wasn’t beating her up with his friends he was attacking other children if they tried to associate with her. That changed once they had to attend school in Turffield. The older children were responsible for watching them during the half-hour walk to and from school each day and they didn’t tolerate anyone under their watch acting out. So even though the other kids her age still avoided her she was relatively safe at school. Harri was also able to take advantage of being out from under the suspicious eyes of her relatives to look her fill at the local pokémon. Hoothoot and Rookidee fluttered overhead while Skwovet, Nickit, and the occasional Wooloo wandered by.
During their lunch breaks Harri loved hanging out on Route 4 to play with the electric types that lived nearby and if she was really lucky there’d be an Eevee or two. The Dursleys never gave her lunch, but there was a berry tree close by that the pokémon helped her shake if she gave them some of the berries. They always ended up with more than she could eat so she was happy to share. The pokémon couldn’t ‘talk’ exactly, but they made themselves understood (and Harri, glad for their company, never thought to question why she could understand them so well) and many a lunch was spent laughing over silly stories with her new friends. Harri knew her Aunt and Uncle would be horrified by this display of freakishness, but for the first time ever she had friends and that more than made it worth the risk. It was a month into the new school year when a Joltik she’d gotten to know was anxiously waiting for her by the berry tree. The moment she got close enough it flung itself into her arms and started squeaking at her.
“Woah, hold on buddy. Not so fast.” She gently stroked its fur while waiting for it to calm enough to tell her why it was so upset. It worked a little, but all she could get from him was that there was something she had to see, a problem she had to fix. “Ok, buddy. Can you take me to the thing?” The Joltik twisted around until it was facing forward in her arms and pointed toward the closest field to her right. It guided her through the field, out its back entrance, and around the rock wall to the right. Joltik wiggled before jumping down and hopping towards where the ledge above the river curved. She walked closer at its impatient squeak and had to crouch down to look under the bush. Curled up under the lower branches was a small dirty pokémon. It lifted its head and looked at her with tired dark eyes. “Oh, you poor thing. Hang on, I’ll bring you something. Joltik, will you stay?” The Joltik nodded and she quickly turned and ran back to the berry tree.
A few shakes, with assistance from a Meowth, got her a good handful of berries (two of which she gave to the Meowth in thanks) and then it was back to Joltik and the mystery pokemon. “Can you use fury cutter on these?” The Joltik happily set about cutting the berries into small pieces while Harri looked closer at the pokémon. It had long ears, a bushy tail, and a fluffy, if matted, ruff of fur around its neck. It was dirty, but she couldn’t tell how much was dirt or dust and how much was natural fur color. She pulled her water bottle (a Sobble themed one Dudley had thrown away after getting bored of it after a week that she’d quickly taken and hidden), out and the oversized sweater she’d taken off earlier and poured some of the water on the sleeve. Harri slowly reached towards its side, but had to pull back when a static shock sparked. “How are the berries coming, Joltik?” She asked, receiving an affirmative chirp. “Our friend looks like it’s sparking, think you can take care of that?” Joltik nodded, quickly hopped over to the pokémon and started eating the static electricity that seemed to be clinging to the other pokémon.
Once Joltik backed up with a content sigh she picked up a handful of the cut berries, passed a few pieces to Joltik, and turned back to the pokémon. “Think you can eat these? They should help you feel better and I can start untangling your fur.”
“Ee” the pokémon weakly cried before slowly starting to eat the berries. While it was eating Harri set to work on its fur. The overlong sleeves of her sweater soaked with water let her dab the fur and wipe away the dirt. She had to pause at times to untangle knots or remove twigs and there were old injuries she had to be careful around, but slowly the dirt went away and the pokémon’s true colors came through. It wasn’t a perfect job, a more thorough cleaning plus some bandages would be needed, but there before her was clearly an oddly colored Eevee. The Eevee she usually sees are a warm brown with cream fur on the neck ruff and tail tip, but this one was a pale beige-gray with white fur on the neck ruff and tail tip. Before she could examine the Eevee any further a bell from the school chimed.
“I have to go,” she told the pokémon, “but I’ll be back tomorrow and if you stay here I can bring you some more berries.” The Eevee looked at her for a moment before nodding. “Here, you can have my sweater to keep warm. It's starting to get cold at night.” Harri carefully settled the sweater over the Eevee (making sure the still wet sleeves weren’t on it) and made her way back into the school building. She tried to focus on the lesson, but her thoughts remained on the strange colored Eevee for the rest of the day. During their walk back to Little Whinging she decided to ask one of the older kids.
“A weird colored pokémon? Sounds like a shiny.” He said.
“A shiny?”
“Yeah. Shiny pokémon, they’re really rare. The odd coloration makes them stand out more so they usually don’t survive long, it doesn’t help that they’re often excluded from sheltering or cooperating with regular colored pokémon of the same species. Breeders and poachers go nuts over them though, they’re worth a lot of money.” His words swam around in her head for the rest of the night. The Eevee was just like she was, different for reasons outside of its control and made to suffer because of it. Harri resolved to do her best to help the Eevee, the shiny pokémon probably needed a friend as badly as she did.
* * * * * *
Over the next few days Harri’s life began to settle into a pattern. For the first part of her day she would struggle to focus on her classes while waiting for lunch when she’d be able to see Eevee again. Then she spent all of lunch chatting with her new pokémon friend, further helping untangle his fur while they ate berries that the local pokémon had helped her gather. The rest of the day was filled with trying to get all her schoolwork and chores done (something she rarely managed to accomplish) while worrying about Eevee (did she leave enough berries to last him until tomorrow? it had been cold recently, was he warm enough?). It was particularly bad that first weekend. She’d tried to gather what she thought would be enough food to last Eevee until Monday, but she worried about setting back his recovery by not getting enough. It also didn’t help that they were firmly in fall now and true to Galar standards the temperature was dropping further every day; the one sweater she’d been able to give him wouldn’t be enough soon (plus she would eventually need it again whispered a voice in her head). The entire weekend saw Harri obsessively completing her chores in desperation to take her mind off worrying for Eevee. By the time lunch on Monday finally rolled around she was a jittery mess. It was hard to not run right to Eevee, but she dutifully went to the berry tree first before heading to her friend. Her relief was immense after seeing that Eevee was fine (he even had a berry left over!) and he was overjoyed to see her again.
“This weekend was really hard. I didn’t like not being able to see you and I missed talking to you.” Eevee seemed to agree if the way he was glued to her side was anything to go by. The end of lunch was much harder than it was before. Harri was reluctant to head back inside, wanting more time with Eevee after being apart for two days, but Eevee was almost more upset about her leaving than she was. For the first time he left the safety of the bush and tried to follow her. His feelings were a confusing tangle, but she managed to piece together that he was worried she’d vanish again, but this time she wouldn’t return, and was desperate to stay with her. Harri was just as fearful that one day she’d go to the bush and Eevee would be gone, either snatched up by a trainer or poacher or chased off by stronger wild pokémon. She finally promised to visit again before she had to go home and Eevee settled down, albeit reluctantly. The end of the day finally rolled around and as the older kids did a quick headcount before they started back for Little Whinging, Harri went up to the same boy she’d asked about odd colored pokémon.
“Um, I left my water bottle by the river during lunch,” she pointed to the ledge between the two fields. “Would it be ok if I grab it real quick?” The older boy looked between the slowly moving pack of kids and the nearby river edge.
“Alright, but try and be quick about it.” He said and Harri ran back to where Eevee was hidden.
“Ee, eevee!” he cheered in excitement and wiggled around upon seeing her. She crouched down and rubbed his head.
“Hey buddy, I can’t stay long, but I'm here like I promised.” Eevee’s ears drooped and he pressed himself into her chest, almost knocking her over. “I know, but I’ll be back tomorrow, really I will.”
“Ee, ve ve, eevee” he cried while trying to press himself even closer. Harri didn’t know what to do. If she didn’t get back quickly the older boy would probably come to find her and discover Eevee, but she could feel Eevee’s misery and fear at her leaving again.
“Ok,” she said, quickly and carefully getting her backpack (a large beat up bag that used to be Dudley’s) in front of them and grabbing the sweater from the ground and putting it inside to provide cushioning, “hop in. You don’t want to stay here alone and I don’t want to leave you out here, so I’ll take you home with me.” Eevee lifted his head up and looked at her hopefully. “There’s a shed in the garden, no-one ever goes in there but me, you can stay there. That way you’ll live right where I live and I’ll get to see you every day!”
“Eevee, ee!” He cheered and lept into her back.
“You have to be quiet though! I’m definitely not allowed to have a pokémon. If anyone finds you they’ll take you away.
“Eevee,” he whispered. Harri smiled brightly at him before slowly closing the bag and carefully putting it on her back. She hurried back to the older boy and thanked him for waiting. They had to walk briskly to catch up with the others, but once they did they returned to the slow pace of the large group and Harri was free to plan out what to do for Eevee. The garden shed wasn’t too badly disorganized (not that her relatives would know, gardening had been her responsibility for years now), so Eevee would have plenty of space. She did a lot of the laundry, it would be easy to ‘accidentally’ get a red sock (conveniently hidden out of sight in a white one) mixed in with Dudley’s comforter during its next wash tomorrow. Her cousin would predictably throw a fit over the new ‘girly’ color and demand a new one. She could grab the old one from the trash and use it to make a warm bed for Eevee. Food shouldn’t be an issue; she could bring home berries from the tree and probably sneak something out for Eevee if she had to. Even knowing she risked getting in trouble for being ‘late’, Harri went straight to the garden shed when she and Dudley got back to Number 4, Privet Drive to get Eevee settled. He’d have to make due with just the sweater for tonight, but from his happy bouncing at being so close to her it didn’t matter.
“Ok, Eevee,” she whispered, “you have to be quiet ok? If my Aunt and Uncle find you they’ll definitely catch and sell you. So you have to stay quiet, alright? Quiet as a ghost.”
* * * * * *
The pattern of Harri’s life changed again with Eevee living in the garden shed. Getting the comforter was just as easy as she’d thought and although she’d been forbidden dinner because of her ‘mistake’ Eevee had been happy to share some of the berries she’d brought back for him. Visiting Eevvee was the first thing Harri did after returning from school. She would give him the day’s berries before dashing inside to work on her chores. Once she was released to do her homework (usually after cleanup from dinner when her relatives wanted to relax and watch tv, but didn’t want her around) she’d be right back in the shed with Eevee. Her friend couldn’t help her with her homework, but just having him pressed up against her while she worked and listening intently to whatever she said made it easier to finish her work. Getting to spend longer than half-hour lunches together had them growing closer than ever, but it wasn’t until Halloween that Harri actually spent the night in the shed with Eevee.
Harri had always felt sad in the days leading up to Halloween, but the day of the holiday itself was always miserable. She never cared that Dudley was the only one that was bought a costume and allowed to trick or treat–she always felt too out of sorts to care. Eevee could feel her strange sadness and stuck close to her the entire evening. His comforting presence lessened her mysterious hurt and without noticing she fell asleep wrapped in the comforter with him in her arms. Their friendship was more solid after that point, she spent more nights out in the shed and Eevee became Ghost. The nickname felt appropriate, it matched his paler coloration and referenced her parting phrase to him ‘quite as a ghost’ every time they had to separate. Ghost was her best friend. Harri wasn’t sure what she’d do without him and started to make plans to ensure they could stay together. She would have to take the license test once she turned 10. Passing would officially make her a pokémon trainer and allow her to have a single partner while she attended trainer school (where receiving good marks would permit her to start her journey and capture more pokémon as early as 11 years old). The trainer school had dorms and she could work at the gym to pay for a room and the necessary supplies for herself and Ghost. Studying for the test would be hard, if her relatives got even a whiff of her preparing for the license test they’d never let her out of the cupboard again, so stealth studying during lunch at school was key. Ghost supported her plan and things went smoothly for a week before it all came crashing down.
Harri had been so preoccupied with caring for and spending time with Ghost that she’d failed to notice the growing ire in her cousin. Dudley’s favorite pastime in previous years had been tormenting his cousin, an activity approved of and even encouraged by his parents, but ever since they’d started attending school in Turffield it was a pursuit he’d been unable to partake in. The older students stopped him and his friends from bothering her during the walks to and from school, they could never find where she hid during lunch (the school and surrounding area they were free to roam was much larger than their old school’s), and in the evening and weekend she vanished after doing her chores. He was sick of not being able to play Harri hunting and decided to follow her to wherever she would hide out that weekend. She wasn’t allowed to do laundry anymore after destroying his old comforter, so after cleaning up from breakfast and making sandwiches to put in the fridge for lunch she was free to go outside (his parents preferred to not have her underfoot). Dudley was confused when she took a sandwich and headed out to the old shed in the garden. That was where she’d been hiding all this time? He smirked and stalked over to the shed. His little freakish cousin would be in for the surprise of her life when he tore whatever little nest she’d no doubt made apart. The door wrenched open soundlessly and his jaw dropped. Because there in the shed was his old comforter, now an awful pink, with an oddly colored Eevee sitting on it with his cousin as both looked at him in shock.
“No way,” he gaped. “You’ve got a pokémon in here. You’re not supposed to be around pokémon, let alone have one in the shed! And that’s my old comforter!” Harri rapidly went pale. This was the worst thing that could have happened. Dudley wouldn’t keep this quiet. He’d tell his parents and either demand they keep Ghost for himself or do nothing when they sold him. She started shaking and her breaths were getting short as panic took over. She was in so much trouble, probably the most trouble she’d ever been in.
“Eevee!” Ghost shouted and bound over to Dudley before yawning in his face. Dudley looked at the pokémon in surprise and then his eyes began to get lidded as he yawned. He wobbled and slowly sank to the floor of the shed, snoring. Ghost padded back over to her and rubbed his head against her proudly. Harri fought to get her breathing under control as she looked at her sleeping cousin.
“You…you used yawn. You can use yawn? You made him go to sleep?”
“Ee, ve ve!” Harri hugged Ghost tightly, tears dripping into his fur.
“Thank you! Thank you!” she hiccuped. Ghost had performed a miracle and bought them time. The secret might be out, but now they still had a chance. “Help me get this on him,” she asked once she’d calmed down and together they pulled the comforter around Dudley. “Ok. It’s ok. We can do this; we just can’t stay here anymore. Wait here while I grab some stuff from the house. If he wakes up, hit him with another yawn. I’ll be right back.” Harri ran for the house and made her way into Dudley’s second bedroom. It was full of broken and forgotten things he’d been given over the years. It was tricky in the heaping mess, but eventually she found the camping kit he’d gotten for his birthday. It wasn’t much, just a small tent and sleeping bag, but it was easy to carry and could be hooked on the top of her bag. She grabbed a few more things (a headlamp, some toys she’d thought Ghost would like, a few books Dudley would never read) and made her way down the stairs.
“Girl!” her Aunt’s shrill voice called. “Just what are you doing with all that!?” Harri cringed and thought fast.
“Dudley wants to play camping with Piers, he told me to get his stuff.” She kept her eyes downcast and prayed to Arceus that she’d be believed.
“Very well, but don’t dally too long. I’m sure there’s work for you to be doing.”
“Yes, Aunt Petunia.” Harri swallowed down her euphoria at escaping her Aunt’s scrutiny and rushed back to the kitchen. She put her collection by the back door before doubling back to her cupboard. It took almost no time to grab all her things, the few clothes and books she wanted, and get them into her bag. Then it was back to the kitchen where she took half the sandwiches she’d made earlier from the fridge, refilled her water bottle, and added everything she’d gathered to her bag. It wasn’t much, but it would do. A last second thought had her grabbing Dudley’s spare winter coat (it was a nice forest green color) and brown hiking boots before she dashed back to the shed. Dudley hadn’t so much as twitched from where she’d left him with Ghost keeping watch. Harri gathered anything she’d left in the shed before motioning for Ghost, who quickly jumped onto her shoulder, and they were off. A Nickit was happy to guide them through the woods to Route 4 (cutting the time the regular half-hour walk took in half) in return for a berry.
Harri and Ghost made a brief stop by the berry tree (getting a good handful for their supplies) before they made their way to the entrance to Galar Mine. The cave system mouth was slightly intimidating in its darkness, but with Ghost’s reassurance they headed in. The inside of the cave wasn’t actually too bad. It was well lit from lanterns evenly dispersed on the walls and the narrow entrance quickly opened into a spacious cavern. They both looked in awe at the glittering gems that dotted the walls. It was one of the prettiest things Harri could remember seeing. They spent a few minutes looking around before moving forward. There was a set of cart tracks on the floor leading deeper into the mine that they followed. As soon as she was able Harri moved off the tracks and walked beside them when the tunnel opened up. She was glad she’d moved, as almost immediately after a pokémon that looked like a living coal cart zipped past. The open area the cart tracks led them too had even more gems and opened up into a massive chasm that glittered. A few rock and ground pokémon wandered over to say hello.
“Hi there,” Harri smiled at them and Ghost called a happy greeting. “We’re trying to get through the mine, could one of you show us the fastest way out?” The pokémon deliberated amongst themselves for a moment before a Digglet popped off and reappeared at the edge of a wood bridge.
“Digglet, digglide!” It called and a pokémon that looked like a winged blue ball of fuzz with a black heart on its round pink nose flew over.
“Wooba?”
“Digg, digglet.”
“Woobat, woo!” After their brief conversation the Woobat flew over, flapped around her and then headed back toward the bridge before turning around to motion at her.
“Thank you Digglet, thank you Woobat!” Harri smiled at the pokémon as she and Ghost made to follow the fluffy bat. The bridge that spanned the chasm was quite sturdy and the other Woobat flying around made sure not to crowd them. They made it across to the other cavern area and their guide led them to another set of cart tracks. Harri was grateful for Woobat keeping them from getting lost, without the pokémon’s help she probably would have wandered into one of the two branching tunnels to the right of the tracks. They’d have been able to find their way out eventually, but time was of the essence. Harri wanted to put as much distance between her and Ghost and Little Whinging before Dudley woke up and told his parents what had happened. The narrower tunnel finally opened up into a cavern that looked like the first one she and Ghost had seen, except this one had pokémon wandering around in it. Woobat flew down, rubbed against the shoulder Ghost wasn’t perched on and pointed towards the tunnel in front of them before heading back the way they’d come from. “Thank you Woobat!” Harri called after the retreating pokémon, Ghost adding his thanks as they walked through the tunnel towards the exit. The plain walls abruptly opened up into fading daylight and Route 3 stretched out before them. They went a little ways down the route before setting up the tent for the night and set off again once the sun rose.
Harri and Ghost looked around with wide eyes at all of the pokémon they passed as they made their way down the route. These were pokémon neither of them had seen before. Some were orange with black markings that barked as they played while black and white striped pokémon ran in zig-zag patterns or wrestled with each other. It was a struggle to not get distracted and stop to watch the pokémon, but eventually they made it to a bridge that led to a city (which a sign helpful denoted as Motostoke). It looked like the bridge had a mechanism that would let them lift it up and leave the city closed in. Immediately after the bridge was a Pokémon Center which she hurried past. Harri didn’t want to risk the chance of the resident Nurse Joy being able to report having seen her if her relatives got the authorities involved over Ghost and her running away (the only reason Harri could imagine them reporting her as missing was for Ghost, they’d always complained how much of a financial drain she was and that they should have dumped her at an orphanage, but they could sell Ghost and would likely want him brought back to them even if they hadn’t known he existed before now). They passed a fire station and a nice looking Inn before finding the gym. Luckily they spotted a group use a lift mechanism to get to the lower portion of the city and they jumped on with the next group.
This part of the city was much busier; a veritable flock of people and their pokémon were walking around as they made their way to and from the various stores that lined the street. Feeling overwhelmed and unused to dealing with diverse crowds like this they hurried down the street towards the massive wall with stairs leading outside the city. From what she could see as she went down the stairs the wall was thick and tall, but all musings on the wall stopped when she reached the open area at the bottom. It was raining. Back in Motostoke there was no rain, not even any clouds, but here it was pouring with thick dark clouds overhead. She looked to the left and saw what looked like a dust storm swirling while to the right it was snowing. Far in the distance several beams of pinkish red light shot up towards the sky. Harri’s confusion faded as she remembered a lecture from history class.
“Ghost! This is the Wild Area!”