A preface, since I notice people are put off my this chapter: it gets better. I just had this written and felt it was a good starter since the fact revealed here is a major part of the story, but not something I wanted to keep from the readers. I could have written it for you to find out later on or throughout the story, but that's not how I wanted to do it. The story is in Nicoli's point of view, and this is something he doesn't hide from himself. So you find out now.
So, please, give this a chance and read the next chapter. It's not that long.

Background Check: Nicoli Jules

I have a confession to make. One that probably doesn't come as much of a shock to any of you, but it's been a secret nonetheless.

Simply put? I'm not human.

You see, my family was cursed. My mother's family. About ten generations back, maybe eleven, my great something grandfather had an affair with the wrong woman. She was a witch and when she found out about his wife, she cursed him. The curse was specific to the males of the family – I think she might have been used by one too many men. This man, a noble in the province he was in, had a son not long after the curse was placed. He was forced to watch as his son grew and with him, his control over fire. This boy grew to have a son of his own and this son also bore an heir. All three with the same gift of fire.

Duke Micheal Graylin, in turn, married. His wife, though, was a herbalist of Celtic origin and he implored her to find a way to make it so she only bore female children. She found one. This started a line of female heirs, none of whom could inherit the curse. Eight generations later, I was born.

You see where this goes, don't you? You're starting to understand my pokemon choices, aren't you Trev?

I inherited the curse from deep within my mothers past. And because of this curse, I'm not human. I never really was.

"But what is this curse? Couldn't you just be, I don't know, a fire elementalist?"

It's... not that simple, Serena. If it were true, over time the ability would decrease, become dormant. But it hasn't.

The witch cursed my family with demon blood. Because of the nature of this, every male to be born into this line is a pure-blooded fire demon.

So no, I'm not human. And I'm sorry I kept this from you.

Prologue: Running Start

When they moved to Vaniville town, Nicoli Jules was apprehensive. He didn't know anyone here, having left all his friends behind when his mother, Grace, moved them. She was a renowned Rhyhorn racer and travel was a given. This time, though, she assured him they were finally staying in one place.

Nicoli wasn't sure if he wanted to believe her. She'd said similar things in the past and, well, those obviously weren't true, were they?

He couldn't blame her though. She made an effort for him and it wasn't really her fault the racing championships and challenges made her move a lot. It wasn't her fault she was a single mother, Nicoli's father having left her before Nicoli was even born. If he wanted to, he could have stayed with his grandparents and let Grace travel by herself.

But he couldn't do that. Not only did he never want to leave his mother, he also couldn't trust himself to be in control of his powers. Fire was impulsive; it did what it wanted, even when Nicoli tried desperately to harness it. For all that it was in his veins, it didn't want to stay there. It was always trying to break free, to burst free of the coil he imagined it like inside him.

Nicoli couldn't put the burden of controlling that on anyone else. So he traveled with his mother and tried to enjoy it as best he could, even though it meant having to live knowing he'd have to pack up and leave everyone he knew at any time.

Coming to Vaniville town, and staying if he could believe his mother, would be a breath of fresh air. Nicoli could finally give in to the temptation of making friends, of forming lasting bonds that he didn't have to fear uprooting at any possible moment.

Although, coming here raised many concerns for him, despite his mother brushing them off. He didn't know what was considered normal. He was sure, though, that anything but a pokemon throwing fire around wasn't normal. There were many things he was allowed to do now, like catch pokemon for himself now that they were settled for an indefinite amount of time, but the 'games' he played with his mother's Fletchling were something he'd have to either stop or hide.

Cassandra, while annoying with her tendency to tackle him awake, was a good companion when he was fighting to learn about the extent of his powers. He could control fire; he was fire. And the Fletchling, while not being a fire type pokemon, did wonders to help him since she knew the move Ember. How, Nicoli never managed to find out. Grace had only ever given him a smirk when he asked and the mystery was forever unsolved. It was annoying. But he didn't really care, as long as she was around to trade sparks with.

It didn't help matters that, despite having had his powers since he was born, he couldn't control them as well as he wished he could. If his emotions ever got the better of him, Nicoli risked turning into a human sparkler, spiting fire from his fingers and, sometimes, his mouth. He hated when that happened.

Luckily, that only happened rarely. It still wasn't pleasant to think about.

But moving to the Kalos region was supposed to be a new start for the family of two. While he didn't think he'd ever stop worrying about slipping up, Nicoli was going to make the best out of living in Vaniville town. Even if his mother was acting oddly and even if he knew that gaining friends would only hurt him in the long run.

He was going to try and he'd be damned if he let something like being a fire demon stop him.

Disclaimer: I only own my copy of Pokemon Y