The Ember in the Night

Lillian gazed into the night sky, curling up in the grass at the foot of a tree near the pond. She had recently arrived at Grassveil Town and, although she wouldn’t admit it, she was slightly overwhelmed by the abundance of Pokemon. She had wandered around in search for a less populated place, in an attempt to regain some privacy and space, and ended up at the Small Pond.

She felt at peace in this area; a breeze blew through the clearing, caressing her fur. She would rather spend the night here than in the bustling streets of Grassveil - just for today, while she got accustomed to the town. Tomorrow, she would get to training. Lillian couldn’t wait to show off her skills in battle and see how they weighed up against the skills other Pokemon possessed. Surely her skills would be superior to the others’. After all, they couldn’t have trained as extensively as she had. She was confident that she was going to be strong; stronger than them all.

Lillian was drowsy, but a nagging thought remained in her mind; she needed to practice. If she wanted to be the best, then she had to train, no matter how late it was. Lillian produced a flame in the air, watching the flickering flames against the dark of the night, casting a golden glow on the surface of the pond. Then suddenly, all the will to practice was drained out of Lillian. It was a beautiful sight. The warmth of the flame, although brief, was familiar and comforting.

Katsumi felt like curling in a corner and crying, but she didn’t. She didn’t want to give in to her emotions. Being alone was just too much for her; it just etched more pain into her already scarred mind. No one is here for me, no one likes me, it’s too much being alone, being abandoned, being isolated, ARGHHH! JUST STOP IT! Katsumi froze and vigorously shook her head. She inhaled deeply and shut her violet eyes. She was just too weak…

A few long seconds passed and the Dratini had calmed herself down. With her violet eyes still squeezed shut, she became aware of the faint, gurgling sound of water. Katsumi’s eyes slowly edged open and she tentatively slid across the soft ground, steadily approaching the small pond. Sighing, she closed her approached the water’s edge and closed her purple eyes. It was kind of sad how she couldn’t deal with her mental insecurities by herself and needed something, anything to distract her, even if it was simply the flow of water.

Suddenly Katsumi saw the sparkling reflection of a flame cast over the small pond. Energy and life rushed throughout her as she saw the beautiful flame. But then she saw it, a silhouette, of a Pokemon! A Fennekin! Without thinking she dashed over the Fennekin and joy bubbling inside her.

Lillian's ears pricked up as she saw a silhouette of a Pokemon approaching her. She turned her head to face the Pokemon, letting the last of her flames disappear into the air. The Small Pond was plunged into darkness once again, and Lillian's eyes fought to adjust to the darkness.

Lillian was fully aware of her small stature, but she wasn't going to let it affect her. She was going to prove that, despite her size, she could be every bit as ferocious and dangerous as a Mightyena in a battle.

"Who are you?" Lillian asked, careful to keep her voice devoid of emotion. She wasn't sure of the Pokemon's intentions. Holding her head high, she stood her ground, refusing to move a muscle. She was prepared to lash back with an attack if the Pokemon had harmful intentions, but for now, she would wait.

The environment was now dark, since the Fennekin's flames had disappeared but Katsumi didn't notice. Her heart was beating so wildly that she barely even heard the Fennekin speak. This was it! She found another Pokemon! Finally! She wasn’t alone anymore! Katsumi skidded to a halt in front of the Fennekin, a bubbly smile plastered on her face.
“You… you used a fire type move! You’re a fire type Pokemon! THAT’S SO AMAZING! Please can you show me the move that you did, it was Ember right! I think it was but I’m not sure!” Katsumi was grinning heartily as she stumbled over her rapidly spoken words.

Lillian faltered, caught unaware. The Pokemon was... attempting to socialise? Was this how average Pokemon talked to each other? It was... peculiar, to say the least, and quite irritating too. If this was what socialising was like, Lillian wouldn't feel very fond of socialising.

"Leave me alone," Lillian said coldly. "Why would I do that?"

Lillian inspected the Pokemon closely. Under the dim moonlight, she could make out some of the features of the stranger. The characteristic pronged fins on the side of the head, the round snout, and the bump on the forehead... she was confident that this was a Dratini. She had never seen such a Pokemon before - she'd only read about them in books. Despite herself, Lillian was curious. "Where are you from?" She inquired stiffly.

Katsumi’s violet eyes travelled to the ground, unsure of how to react. But with a second of hesitation she did what her instincts told her to do. She didn’t give up.
A smile returned to her face. Smiling was hard but smiling was important. No one would be her friend if she was gloomy and dull and she would be isolated once more. Katsumi didn't want that, so she was trying hard to make friends with this Fennekin.
“Awww, come on random Fennekin who I don’t know the name of! Tell me your name and I’ll tell you my name! Then once we know each other’s names then you can show me your moves. BECAUSE THEY ARE AWESOME!” Katsumi started laughing happily.

Being unaccustomed to socialisation like she was, Lillian didn't pick up on the Dratini's moment of hesitation. She sat, curling her tail across her paws, and fixed the Dratini with a steely stare. "I'm Lillian. But, don't you know it's normal etiquette to tell your name before asking for others'?" Lillian said coolly. "Regardless... Just this one time, I'll show you a move. I was in the middle of training anyway."

Lillian arched her head to the sky, where she spat a ball of fire. It remained in the air for a few seconds, radiating a warm glow on the two Pokemon, before harmlessly fizzing away.

"There." Lillian said, turning around to face the Dratini. "Now, why don't you show me what you can do?"

As the beautiful ember lit up the night sky, Katsumi felt warmth bubbling inside her. After the ember faded away, Katsumi felt like she was glowing on the inside. This Fennekin is amazing! She’s definitely going to be my friend and that’s that!

“THAT WAS AWESOME!” Katsumi said with a grin on her face. After a moment of just staring at the spot in which the flame had vanished from Katsumi sighed. “Okay, well since you told me your name I’ll tell you mine. MY NAME IS KATSUMI AND I’M A DRATINI!” Katsumi practically yelled while grinning gleefully. “I don’t have any really awesome moves like you do but here’s my favourite.”

Katsumi’s tail suddenly hardened and became a silver colour that looked just like iron. Katsumi then turned to a small, nearby tree and whacked her iron tail against the tree trunk. The small tree then toppled over while Katsumi turned around to face Lillian. “What do you think? Pretty awesome isn’t it?!” Katsumi said with a proud smirk on her face.

"You should probably avoid destroying the vegetation here," Lillian stated disdainfully, turning her head to the side. She wasn't going to admit to Katsumi that she was slightly impressed by the sheer power of that move. Slightly miffed, Lillian made a mental note to redouble her efforts in getting stronger. She had to get stronger than Katsumi. If the power of a seemingly naive, easily-excitable Pokemon like Katsumi was at that level, Lillian had to improve her own.

"Hey, how long have you been here?" Lillian inquired, looking at Katsumi stonily. She didn't seem as if she had been in this area for a very long time; her enthusiasm and excitement for everything seemed to indicate that.

“Ahh, well you see, I just arrived just then! But of course I was being very sneaky about arriving here so of course I don’t think anyone could tell that I just arrived because I was being so crafty with my words!” Katsumi started laughing, mainly to herself. “But anyways, with my amazing stealth skills and your awesome fire powers then we should SOOOOO become a team! We would just be amazing! What do you think?”

Katsumi was being very upbeat as usual but deep down inside she was a little scared that Lillian might deny the request to become a team and then just leave her. Then Katsumi would be alone again and she didn’t want that…

Lillian was silent for a moment, and then gave a small smirk. “Then, I’ll have to test our your skill personally, won’t I?” She said confidently, a grin on her face. Perhaps this Dratini wasn’t so bad after all. Maybe Lillian could tolerate her. Something about her persistence and optimism was getting through to Lillian. Frankly, it irritated her at first, but... somehow, Katsumi was reaching out to her. Just like how her parents had. And, this Dratini was so eager to be in a rescue team with her. First, though... Lillian needed to see what she was like in battle.

Lillian enjoyed battles. It was an activity in which Pokemon could communicate using their skills, pure power, and strategy, instead of with words. Battling was something she was much more comfortable with, than a conversation.

”Just so you know, I’m pretty confident in my ability to be stealthy too. I'm pretty confident in my ability to win, as well. I won’t go easy on you,” Lillian said lightly. She took up a battle stance, placing her paws before her.

Lillian smiled! Well it was a technically a smirk but WOW! That’s definitely a surprise since I got the impression that Lillian was one of those Pokemon with a sad life who couldn’t smile, but no! She could smile! If Lillian was smiling and actually wanted to battle, then it must mean that she doesn’t mind being around me!

Katsumi had made up her mind, she was going to win this battle and Lillian would definitely become her friend. With that Katsumi attacked. Electricity sparkled around the Dratini and rolled off her heading straight towards Lillian in a wave of thunder. Katsumi used Thunderwave.

Lillian dashed to one side, twisting her body in an attempt to avoid the Thunder Wave. However, she wasn’t quick enough. The Thunder Wave struck her, and she skidded to a halt on the grassy ground. Lillian struggled to stay standing, electricity coursing through her body.

”It’ll take more than that to stop me,” Lillian said, forcing those words out with as much power as she could muster. She attempted to retaliate, but, with surprise, she found that she couldn’t move. The effects of the Thunder Wave were beginning to take effect, and Lillian found herself paralysed. Struggling to move her paws, Lillian watched Katsumi, observing her next move. Especially since she couldn't move now, it would be crucial that she didn't miss anything Katsumi did, in order for her to attack back or dodge as soon as possible.

Katsumi grinned with satisfaction. This is going to be quite simple. Now that Lillian is paralysed I can attack! But what move should I use? She’s already seen Iron Tail so I should use another new move that she hasn’t seen yet but which one should I use… arghh, I’m overthinking this! Just use anything! You’re wasting time! Lillian won’t be paralysed forever.

Katsumi swiftly slid across the soft ground and used wrap, attempting to suffocate the small Fennekin. Katsumi knew that she couldn’t lose this battle because her friendship with Lillian was at stake. With this in her mind she focused all her strength and tried to constrict the Fennekin, hoping to win the fight.

Before she could move again, Lillian found herself wrapped by Katsumi. However, Lillian knew what would happen if Katsumi did so. As Katsumi made physical contact with her, the weak electrical current left from the Thunder Wave that was running through Lillian was transferred to the Dratini, too.

How does the metaphorical taste of your own medicine feel, Katsumi? Lillian thought.

At the moment, both Pokemon were paralysed, albeit with a weaker paralysis than before. Lillian found that she could move her limbs slightly now. She took advantage of the situation to attempt to free herself from Katsumi’s grip.