>12:20 pm, Australia...
>
>   Azel finally came to the end of the dirt road.  Located here was 
>a sprawling farmhouse, built piece by piece and constantly added 
>onto over the years.  The ramshackle place was coated with dust from 
>the hot dry summers (which Azel personally hated, though the rest 
>of her family enjoyed) but it was always kept in good repair.  
>Prairie stretched out in all directions with a few sparse trees 
>dotting the landscape.
>   *Ain't it lucky one of those trees grew right besides my window*
>   Azel, carefully making sure no one was about, walked up to her 
>tree.
>   *Poor thing, it's growing so withered due to the heat.  Well it's 
>served me faithfully...or as faithfully as a tree serves someone.*  
>   Azel remembered all the times she had been supposedly confined 
>to her room and how she use to climb down her tree and go exploring 
>in the nearby area.  A couple of things she had learned from those 
>trips, mainly how to navigate around the area and a detailed map of 
>between here and the two cities nearby, but also, walking quietly 
>when passing the kitchen.  Since the kitchen was located directly 
>beneath her room, Azel could pick up some good gossip and learn what 
>was really going on, but also it made her trips more dangerous, and 
>therefore more exciting.  She had only been caught once.
>   *Purely accident it was...but they never trust my enough.  I'm 
>not the youngest and yet they always treat me as the baby.*
>   Azel sighed and stood at the base of the tree.
>   *This place has been good to me though...dang it, I'm not sure if 
>I really want to leave.  It's such a big decision.  But then, I'm 
>older now.  I have to make my decisions for myself.*
>   Almost as out of nowhere, voices floated up and teased around 
>Azel's ear.  Azel immediately recognized the voices as belonging to 
>her mother and one of her younger sisters.
>   *They must be in the kitchen.*
>   "...leave it in the oven for half an hour?"
>   "Yes, dear.  Azel should be home by then."
>   "Mom, we don't need her help.  Why did you ask Lavos to tell her 
>to come back early?"
>   "Well...Mark's coming for dinner tonight.  I want to talk to Azel 
>before he gets here.  We have to discuss the future."
>   "Please don't tell me your letting Mark eat with us!"
>   "It's just a possibility...Azel needs to accept that she can't 
>live her life like this forever...traveling round, no roots.  No 
>family, no job-"
>   "What about that Pokémon-stuff?"
>   "Every one knows that's not a REAL job, it's just a hobby for 
>rich little kids to get out of school."
>   "You let Azel get out of school."
>   "That's different...um, she was ahead of the others, the teachers 
>picked on her, she needed freedom, space...eh...mainly she needed 
>direction."
>   "So why not now?"
>   "Now's time to settle down.  Plan the rest of her life.  She's 
>been traveling since she was ten-"
>   "Not that much-"
>   "Quiet when I'm speaking, girl...now where was I?  Yes, as I was 
>saying, traveling a lot.  Time she settled down."
>   Listening to them discuss her life, Azel felt like a mortal 
>eavesdropping on the fates.
>   *However, unlike the fates, these people have no power over my 
>decisions.  And I'm not going to let them decide for me.*
>   Azel quickly climbed up the tree to her room and crawled through 
>the open window.  Her room was plain white with no decorations.  She 
>never bothered to buy anything nice for her room because she found 
>that if her siblings liked it, they'd just appropriate it.
>   Azel grimaced as she remembered her mother's reaction the first 
>and only time she had complained.
>   *Just another line of why don't you settle down...then maybe 
>people would respect you...*  With no punishment forthcoming, all 
>her siblings "borrowed" her possessions.
>   Azel walked the short distance from the window to her bed.  The 
>old faded quilt rustled and released herbal scents as Azel reached 
>under her bed and searched for her backpack.  She waved her hand 
>around till she caught a strap and pulled her backpack out.  Azel 
>regarded the backpack with pleasure.  It was a heavy all-purpose 
>item, equipped for overnight backpacking and to stand up to all 
>kinds of wear.
>   *Perfect for what I'm going to do...*
>   Azel reached deep into her backpack and pulled out a small black 
>felt bag. 
>   She opened the bag and gingerly poured the contents unto her 
>quilt.
>   Out rolled five pokéballs and a small blue pokédex.
>   *I still remember the day I received my first Pokémon from the 
>professor in Sydney.  Professor Stach taught me all the basics to 
>Pokémon training.  It was then I realized this was what I wanted to 
>do with my life.*
>   Azel attached the pokéballs to her belt, in her mind, promising 
>to explain what was going on later.  Quickly, Azel grabbed a 
>sleeping bag from the closet and her clothes from the dresser.  All 
>the rest of her gear was already packed.  Making sure no one was 
>around outside, Azel quickly shinned down the tree.
>   *Now, from my knowledge of this area, I can get to Sydney before 
>dark, but only if I ride Ponyta.  Then that's what I'll do.*
>   Azel headed out into the distance, searching for the fastest way 
>to leave Australia.