Dante's Story by Shadowed_Sheikah

Disclaimer: I do not claim to own Pokemon or any of it's characters. Pokemon is copywrite of Nintendo.

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I guess it's best to start at the beginning. My name is Dante, and I am a Houndoom. My tale is long and rather sad, but I leave it to you to tell your children when they are old enough. Tell of my story.

I was born in a forest, a dark dense forest full of hiding spots. A perfect place for raising a family. My mother's name was Maria, or Dark Maria to be exact. She had gone wild after her owner died. My father was a Houndoom like her, his name Shift. Unlike my mother,he had been wild all his life. He never had a trainer call him their own, and he was smart enough to stay away from people. He would hunt for us and make sure people didn't come into the woods. He was enourmas, standing at about four feet at the withers. Because everyone in the city near our forest was so superstitous about dark Pokemon, even the sight of him would send them running, much less his deathly howl. He wasn't affectionate like our mother, but I saw him smiling and watching us, and I knew he was proud. I also had a brother, Phep, and a sister, Rosla. We always stuck together in our early weeks, and we were very close.

I guess all that happened in my early puphood is a blur. I don't remember much of it at all, really. I can't really remember until when my life fully changed.

My father had been hunting for days to no avail. My mother had also, but my father was more skilled than she. Even with both of them hunting, they couldn't find anything, not even a Pidgey or Rattata. The forest was completely bare except for a fungus, which was poisonous. My siblings and I were crying from all the hunger, and even my parents were worn down. We were so desperate, we even ate the few weeds that grew among the dead plants. Out of our desperation, my parents decided to go to town to search for food. My father was wary, but he thought he should try to find something instead of letting us perish from starvation.

The walk to town was at least an hour's worth for pups like ourselves. It was deep into winter,and there were a few inches of snow on the gravel path to the town. At first all I wanted to do was lie down and rest, but when my mother said we would have food, I mustered all the strength in my bony body. Phep and Rosla also trotted along when the promise of food was issued. Finally, after all that walking, I saw town. I was strange at first to me. There were paths and buildings and cars. And all that noice! And people bustling everywhere! My father had told me about people, and they fit the description except the fact he said they had menacing faces and looked vicious. The people I saw looked busy, but not mean. They came in all shapes,sizes and colors. Females and males. Pups and adults. Blue hair,brown hair, yellow hair. They all looked so unique it was hard to be afraid.

My father herded us into a bush outside the city. He told us to stay right behind him, and to be extra quiet, even if we were hungry. He dashed into an alleyway. We followed after, panting to keep up. He was so swift and sneaky. Even though at that point I was an older pup, I wasn't full grown yet at all, and my shorter legs tried hard to keep up with my fathers long striding legs. After mazing for a while more, he signaled for us to stop and hide in a cardboard crate. He stood out at the corner of the dumpy building we were near, his dark fur blending in perfectly among the shadows. His blazing red eyes were the only thing we saw, even though the sun was just beginning to set. It was a relief to lay down inside the box because the snowy wind was so fierce. The sun set quickly,as it does in the winter time. I heard a low growl from my father,which was the signal for us to come out. I heard a clang, and saw my father knock over a trash can. Garbage spilled out on the snowy alley. My siblings and I rushed in to eat. Oh, how good it was! We hadn't eaten much in days, and even trash was like a feast. Suddenly, I heard a large booming noice. My mother,who was eating next to me, fell over, blood poring from her shoulder. I howled at her, but she didn't respond.

Then I heard voices. Human voices.

"I shot it!"

"Good Earl, but we have to get the others! They're running!"

"We'll show them that evil should saty away! Kill the demons!"

My father barked for us to follow him. I quickly dashed to him, along with Rosla. But Phep wasn't so lucky. He too fell over, leaving a bloody streak in the snow. Soon after Rosla also was shot. We were ahead of them in the empty street, but they were still shooting at us. Then my father slid into an alleyway. I ran after him. He leaped a fence about five feet tall. I, being about two feet at the withers, couldn't. I frantically tried to climb over it, but the wood was icy and I slid of of it. I howled in fear. The hunters finally caught up and stopped in front of me. One of the men pointed the gun at me. I couldn't see him very well because the street lights were the only lights on, but he had icy black eyes. I whined, for I knew there was no surviving this. I closed my copper eyes, preparing for death.

Then I heard scraping of nails, and a familiar bark. My father had come back, ready to fight the killers for me. He raised his bone-adorned head and snarled viciously. I did not see much of the fight, but I knew my father bit into the man's leg. The man fired a bullet into my father's leg. He backed away, but lunged again. I closed my eyes the rest of the fight. Then I heard the men shout and shuffle away in the snow. My father was standing there, panting heavily. Then he collapsed. He had been shot in places besides his leg, and he was bleeding a lot. His breathing was labored, and soon he stopped breathing at all. In my fright, I ran to another alleyway, not looking back.