A large grey orb flew towards the flying figure in the sky. It missed, the intended target dodging with ease. Owen’s heart raced as he scanned the sky, searching desperately for the vanished dragon.

  A split second later, blue flames cascaded down on the Pokémon Center’s rear, licking at the structure before spreading outward. Searing heat. Screams. The acrid scent of burning wood filled the air as Owen stumbled back, his breath catching in his throat. The crowd broke apart, scattering like startled Murkrow.

  The assault paused, and for a moment, everything was eerily still. The only movement was the wavering shimmer of a green barrier, flickering before vanishing into the wind. Then—two blue orbs streaked from the smoldering building. The blue-and-red dragon vanished once more, moving too fast for the eye to follow. But this time, the orbs didn’t simply shoot past. They twisted violently in midair, curving and spiraling like hunting predators. With each turn, they picked up speed, flickering brighter and brighter—until they flashed in unison. A loud roar sounded out as the miniature explosions lit up the dusky sky.

  “Wiggly” Came a worried cry from Owen’s side. He looked over to the nurse’s Pokémon who couldn’t seem to take her eyes off the sky. Her little pink nubs curled up as the fairy Pokémon stepped forward, glowing pink as a small orb formed above her head, growing larger. Larger and larger until it shot off into the same place the blue orbs had collided previously.

  A louder roar pierced the air as the figure plummeted, crashing just outside the Pokémon Center. A few cheers could be heard from the crowd behind them. The nurse raised a hand to her mouth as she watched on, unable to call her Pokémon back.

  “Wigglytuff, wiggly wiggly?” the fairy Pokémon asked, stepping closer to the fallen dragon. The Salamence’s crimson eyes locked onto Wigglytuff, burning like twin embers in the dim light. A low, guttural growl rumbled from its throat. Wigglytuff didn’t flinch, but her puffed fur quivered ever so slightly in the breeze.

  The dragon’s roar still echoed in Owen’s ears when he felt movement in his hands. The little yellow lizard suddenly wriggled free, letting out a startled squeak before dashing toward the forest. Umbreon’s ears perked—then, with a flick of his tail, he gave playful chase. Owen exchanged a look with Fennekin before taking off after them, his heart still hammering from the battle moments before.

  Helioptile didn’t make it far, before stopping in front of a pair of oval-shaped blobs that were a bit hard to make out in the dim light. They exchanged chirps as the little yellow guy cried out to the two Pokémon in front of them. Umbreon stepped up to the two Pokémon, and his golden glow revealed the white and blue fur of the Pokémon in front of them to be a pair of Azumarill, before attempting to lick the closest one’s face. But the Pokémon brushed him aside to follow in full stride after Helioptile who was returning to what was left of the Pokémon center.

  Owen glanced at Fennekin, who had trotted along beside him with a tired huff. He muttered, “We don’t get a break, do we?” Fennekin’s ears flicked, her tail drooping.

  Fennekin sighed, as Owen dragged Umbreon away from a bundle of sparkling lights farther into the forest.

  I swear you’re getting heavier every day.

  Arriving just behind the trio of Pokémon they had been trailing, Owen skidded to a stop, panting. Salamence hovered just above the ground, resembling a fighter jet more than a living being. Then—a blast of blue fire erupted from its jaws, slamming straight into Wigglytuff.

  Wigglytuff moved on, unflinching, cutting straight through all of the flames directly in front of it, meeting the dragon face-to-face, before the embers finally sputtered out and fizzled away.

  ‘Wigglytuff,’ she said, her voice calm as the dragon started hovering backward. At that moment, the two aqua rabbit Pokémon sent a pair of bubblebeams toward Salamence. Wigglytuff tried to close the distance, but the large dragon rapidly gained altitude, dodging both beams with ease. And with a whirr, it took off like a rocket, a loud bang following its departure.

  The air hung heavy with the scent of smoke and the hum of adrenaline. Wigglytuff returned to her partner, her pink fur singed in places. She pressed her head gently into the nurse’s apron, the soft touch a stark contrast to the chaos surrounding them. Two large streams of water shot at the back of the building in short bursts, in attempt to quiet the remaining blaze.

  “Hey!!!!!! Anyone there???” Came a shout from the center lobby, pulling them all out of their reverie. Owen looked at the nurse and nodded as they both ran back into the lobby. The voice sounded off again, coming from the lower hallway of rooms, behind a bit of debris. A large black and white bear Pokémon was holding the wall up. Owen blinked.

  “A talking Pokémon?” Owen accidentally blurted out.

  “No, you idiot, over here!” a voice snapped from behind the Pangoro.

  “Right.” He responded, mentally kicking himself for letting that thought escape.

  “Here, he’s hurt, but I can’t get him through and help Pangoro at the same time.” As Owen approached, he saw the same red-haired man from earlier, propping himself up against the wall alongside his Pokémon. On the ground was a boy, clutching his ratatta close to his chest.

  “We’re gonna push harder for a minute, and you gotta get him out of there when we do.” The man said as the slanted wall straightened out somewhat, Owen ducked under and took the boy’s arm over his shoulder.

  “My leg hurts” He looked up at the nurse who took his other arm as they walked him out towards the lobby, before setting him up in a chair, to go back and check on the man and his Pangoro.

  “Shit.” Came an exhausted gasp in the hallway. The man had made his way out a ways, before a red flash of light came, recalling his Pokémon as the wall collapsed in its absence with a series of loud crashes.

  “Well, that’s probably not good. All we could do, though.” He said to the Nurse. “Thanks” He offered up his hand, making it hard not to notice the sleeves on his jacket were now torn. Owen offered up his own in return, while doing a very poor job of hiding his bewilderment. This was the same man he had spent the past few hours suspecting of foul play, and he had just helped rescue someone.

  “Owen.” He gave an understanding nod to the red-haired man in front of him.

  “Tristan” Was all the Pangoro’s trainer offered in return, before looking at the uncomfortably long handshake.

  “Sheesh, take a picture or something will ya?” He turned to leave, letting his Panda Pokémon back out of its ball. “I’m going outside, not sticking around for this place to fall down more.”

  Owen firmly held the boy’s arm, feeling the slight tremor in his muscles. Step by step, they moved toward the exit, where cooler air and worried faces awaited. Umbreon and Fennekin trudged behind, their usual energy dulled.

  More Pokémon had joined the Azumarill's efforts at fighting the dwindling fire. The team peered around the corner to see the hole in the side of the wall, along with the mangled steel and wood bits that had fallen to the side. Korrina appeared around the back, with Lucario and Mienshao at her side.

  Another young teen was groaning in pain on the ground against the wall. Lucario sped on past them all to the front, as Korrina came over, pat Owen on the shoulder, and simply nodded. She took a moment to catch her breath before Lucario came back with the nurse, who sat down next to the boy to check him over.

  “You look like hell.” He blurted out, noticing the scrapes on her arms.

  “Gee, thanks. But really? I’m fine. Mienshao wouldn’t let me get hurt for real.” The purple weasel nodded before they shared a nervous chuckle. Umbreon ran a circle in excitement, before falling over, looking up expectantly. “And you must have kept watch over him! Good boy!” Korrina bent over to pat his head, causing his rings to glow brighter in delight.

  Minutes turned into hours as the sun finished setting. A small crowd gathered around Fennekin's glowing, warm satellites for ears. Umbreon was play-pouncing with the Eevee from before. Korrina and Nurse Joy had made their way around the crowd, handing out salvaged supplies and checking everyone over. Wigglytuff stayed with the little Pidgey on the bench, steadily soothing it with intermittent pink pulses.

  If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  A pair of yellow lights shone through the darkness on the road, revealing the bus they were attached to. Its arrival was promptly followed by a pair of large trucks, out of which a Blastoise and Golem jumped, along with some people in reflective jackets.

  The remaining crowd started working their way over to the bus, recalling most of their Pokémon with them, to Umbreon’s disappointment. The little boy’s Eevee excitedly yapped at Umbreon before disappearing into a flash of red. The moonlight Pokémon looked around for the Eevee briefly before giving up and slumping down.

  “Tired, aren’t ya? Me too, buddy. Me too.” Owen recalled Umbreon to its ball, before turning to the little yellow fox with a gentle smile. “Thanks, Fenn. You were pretty great.” Her eyes could have been sparkling as she jumped up into his arms, ready to be carried over to the bus. Owen stopped on his way over to check in with Korrina, who had been busy talking with the officer and ranger.

  “I heard what you did downstairs while we were fighting it off, even after I told you to get your butt outside after you found the nurse!” She punched his shoulder lightly in jest. “So, thank you.” Lucario pressed his paw to his chest and grunted with a nod as he stared at Owen. He looked a little roughed up, some of his blue fur had been singed, but if it bothered him, he didn’t show any sign of it as always.

  Owen leaned in closer to whisper, “Oh right, that guy you were wary of? He got a kid out of there who’d been hurt. I don’t think he’s your man.” Korrina was briefly surprised, as she glanced over. Korrina’s brows shot up for just a second before her shoulders relaxed. The man with the red hair and torn jacket was casually moseying his way onto the bus, looking as tired as everyone else.

  “Well, why don’t you get on the bus with everyone else, I’m gonna be right behind you in one of the trucks.” She turned him around and started pushing Owen towards the bus, to Fennekin’s protest as well.

  “Okay, okay. So, see you when we get there?” He asked.

  “Can’t. I’ll make sure you guys get to the center, but I’ve got to go to the station afterward. That Salamence is still on the loose, along with whoever set it off.” She said with a grave look drowning out her bravado.

  Owen caught himself dozing off several times on the long bus ride to Lumiose City. There was little to see besides trees out the windows. The steady hum of the engine blurred into the background noise, drowned out by the chatty passengers. Each passing tree out the window blends into the next. Owen’s head dipped forward, jerking up at the last second—then again, slower this time. His eyelids sagged, heavier with each blink.

  Fennekin curled tightly in Owen’s lap, her ears twitching at every jostle of the cramped bus. Bodies pressed together in the narrow seats, voices murmuring in exhaustion. She saw something that made her yip in excitement, poking at Owen’s chest, preventing him from drifting off again. He looked out the window to see the top of a spire that shone like a beacon amidst the angular dark shadows in the night. An array of lights started popping up one row at a time, dotting the horizon with a sight more familiar to Owen than any other he’d seen so far in this world.

  The streets were busy, though with few cars. Most everyone was walking around, making way for the bus as it slowly navigated toward the city’s towering Pokecenter. The exhausted passengers were greeted warmly by a handful of people in various uniforms, as they made their way through the large revolving glass doors in the main lobby.

  A roped-off piano? Owen smirked, shaking his head as he walked past. Some things never changed. It was then he noticed the cafeteria up ahead. It separated the junction that seemed to divide the building's interior. One half hosted a hospital and the other a Hotel with a polished wooden floor. Umbreon’s ball shook and enlarged itself on Owen’s waste before the little gremlin made his way back out on his own. The moonlight Pokémon shook itself off before a great big stretch before he sniffed the air inquisitively. Umbreon’s nose led it on over to something large and hairy. The Pangoro from before.

  “You again?” Tristan said with a sigh. His partner, however, bent over and pat Umbreon gently before returning to its stoic pose, eliciting a happy cry from the black cat.

  A small group of uniformed officials stepped up in front of the crowd.

  “We can take you all in, but we'll need you all to double up so we have enough room.” One of them announced.

  “You two come over this way.” Said one of the closer staff members to Owen and Tristan, who opened his mouth as if to protest, but let out a loud groan instead, before wordlessly following along.

  “Why do humans make these things so complicated?” Fennekin voiced her thoughts out loud, wondering why the displeased human didn’t say anything more.

  “Rest more important.” The large bear said in a deep voice.

  Fennekin followed along as they made their way down a hallway. The tired trainers trudged along to what should be the end of their eventful night. This sure was a big place for humans, one that she hadn’t seen in a long time. She had almost forgotten humans had many ways to take care of each other like this.

  Their room was much bigger than any other place they had stayed. It even had smaller beds for Pokémon! That didn’t stop Umbreon from skipping along and onto one of the beds for humans anyway. He sure did love kneading his paws into soft things.

  How come he never learned to talk if he’s so spoiled? The little fox thought to herself. Pokémon that spent so much time in human houses usually learned how to speak faster. Too tired to care anymore about that, it was time to collapse into the large and soft pink pillow held inside a basket she set her sights on. A flash lit up the room and yet another Pokémon joined them. This one had a darker body and wasn’t much bigger than herself. The canine Pokémon shook itself off with a satisfied look on its face. One that quickly faded as soon as the Pokémon realized it would be having company.

  “Who the hell are you?” The Pokemon asked with a great amount of sass. Her sharp eyes looked around for her trainer, who just shrugged before taking the remaining bed. Fennekin hadn’t been paying attention to what he said to Owen, but she was sure it wasn’t really important. Humans never say anything important when they’re tired, anyway.

  “I’m-” Fennekin piped up.

  “Don’t care.” And was promptly interrupted.

  “Manners.” The bear gave the smaller Dark Pokémon a stern look.

  “Fine.” The Orange and black Pokémon sighed. “I’m Houndour, don’t have a stupid nickname. Do you?” She asked, staring at Fennekin as if she would rather die than be here right now.

  “None that I’d tell you.” Fennekin spat back while sticking her tongue out.

  “Oh, see big guy?” She turned around to Pangoro like a child who wanted to get out of chores. Before anyone else could say anything, Umbreon walked up to Houndour and started sniffing her face. “Wait, hold up, who are you?” The hellpup asked, her tone pacified and curious now.

  The moonlight Pokémon stared her down intensely with his shining red eyes for but a brief moment, one that in contrast, seemed to last an eternity for the fire and dark type.

  Umbreon inched slightly closer.

  “No butts!” He spouted out confidently with a joyous jump that utterly soured whatever image the Pokémon in front of him had seconds prior.

  “I don’t think he has a name, but that’s Umbreon, yup! He’s strong enough to blow up a weird large Tyranitar!” Fennekin bragged to her apathetic audience. If tumbleweeds could roll indoors, they certainly would be here.

  The large bear gave an apologetic nod. The hellpup however, turned around to go and sulk in one of the beds in the corner. Umbreon continued to spout utter nonsense of word soup. He sure was picking up on things that she’d been saying often. Fennekin wondered if he knew what any of those words meant yet, or if he was just trying them out for the sake of it.

  He finally gave up his rant and took to staring Fennekin down as well. She looked at his dopey expression, wondering what was going on inside his head, before receiving a gentle head-butt. Umbreon then decided to go back up onto the bed with Owen as the last light went out in the room. The bear continued to stand in the corner. Fennekin wondered how he was going to sleep like that before a loud noise startled her. He was already snoring. Weirdo. Still, she might as well try to enjoy the bed that was practically calling her name.

  As Fennekin drifted off, images flickered in her mind—blurry shapes of grey and white, shifting with unsettling familiarity. Green and brown melted into the haze, the colors swirling like memories just out of reach. Somewhere in the darkness, something loomed. A familiar presence, and a whisper just beyond understanding.

  Infuriatingly so, as the harder she tried in vain to focus on their image, the more easily they escaped her imagination. A different blob stood out from the rest, a taller red one that flew past many a blur of scenery, stopping here and there. She looked down to see her scarf was back on her where it belonged, and that’s when everything came into focus. The warm sun was beating down on the quaint dirt road in the middle of nowhere. She happily followed the legs in the pair of white sneakers to her side, as if she’d done so hundreds of times before.

  Fennekin looked up past the skirt and bag, a beaming smile on her face as the figure looked back down at her.

  It looked like the girl was smiling.

  It looked like a nice person was smiling.

  It looked like the black mass where a face should be was smiling.

  “-in--, c--e on! W- d—t w--- -o be ---e f-- --- ----t --m b-----!”

  The little yellow fox retreated in horror, yet that didn’t seem to put any distance between her and the figure. She tried to close her eyes, but the image haunted the inside of her eyelids as well. Finally, she fell down, farther and farther as her heart flew up her chest. There was no more ground, no nothing. Just a static void, numb and prickly was all that was left.

  She was the first to wake, demanding a scan of the surroundings. The bed, the humans, the standing bear, and the dumb dog. All there. Except Umbreon.

  Where did he…

  A strange yet familiar sensation hit the back of her head, causing her to jump and turn around. The glowing rings she’d become familiar with these past few days were right there, once again. And once again he started licking her forehead. She didn’t protest. The little fox just decided to breathe in, and back out as the rampant thumping in her chest slowed down.

  “Thanks, Goldie…” She mumbled under her breath. She'd have a quiet moment to compose herself before the others eventually woke up.

  They all followed the humans down to the place with the tables from last night, and boy was it filled up in the morning! It felt like an eternity before they finally got to sit down with food of their own.

  Later on in the morning, they left the Center and watched the humans say goodbye. She didn’t mind the other human or the bear, but that dog sure was annoying. One minute she was rude, one minute she was nice. What was wrong with her? Come to think of it, the bear made a big deal about Houndour introducing herself, and he never did either!

  Cheapskate, she thought to herself.