All that just because I was at the wrong time at the wrong place in front of the wrong person. I felt the impact of the bullet in my chest, myself losing grip falling into the stream and being carried down a waterfall before everything went black. The only thing I felt was coldness. The coldness of the water around my body, but this also vanished as I supposedly hit the sandy shore. After that, nothing...
Waiting... awaiting my final judgment I prepared myself for the worst. Though this was not exactly what I had expected.
Still feeling very dull my senses slowly returned, my eyes still closed I could hear some voices.
"It has been about a week, do you still think he'll survive?"
"A little bit trust in my abilities, please."
"Sheesh, you don't have to be so aggressive, Rain."
This Rain snorted a bit. "C'mon, you bugger, bring me some Oran Berries."
The other person padded slowly away but halted when Rain spoke up again.
"Blizzard, wait. Could you bring Sky over, too?"
"Sure, see ya, Rain." Blizzard walked away.
Now I finally was able to open my eyes slowly. Groaning I failed to lift myself up.
Rain saw this and held me down with a furred hand. "Shh, don't. You're too weak."
My eyes at least open I expected a nurse or such leaning over me, but what I really saw startled me quite much. Rain was no human, she was a Vaporeon.
'I must be hallucinating, yeah right no other possibility'
"Hey, hey, stay still. You just fell down the Big Falls and survived, that alone is a mystery to me. So please be slowly." Rain suggested.
"O...okay. Where am I?" My voice sounded strange, almost not recognizable. Way more higher pitched than before, but not female, to my honest relief.
"You're in the hands of the best curer of the Sky-Clan, Rain's my name." She told me.
"Sky-Clan?"
"Yeah, named after the leader of our colony. Our clan does not only contains evolutions of Eevee but also the evolutions of Pichu." She explained.
"So a whole colony of wild Pokemon."
"Wild? Are you a captured one? Because only they say 'wild' to us." Rain asked suspiciously.
"A what? Wait a moment, I don't get anything right now."
Then I realized that something was poking out of my face. It closely resembled a red furred muzzle. Agitated I ordered:
"Rain, could you, could you bring me a... something where I can see myself."
I wondered why I couldn't speak out the word "mirror" anymore.
"Sure, but why the hectic? You do look quite normal to me, a normal Flareon."
'A what?'
"No, no! This cannot be!"
Rain had put a bowl of water on a the ground next to me and I stared into it. A little tear dropped out my eye, when I saw what I hadn't hoped for. It really was a Flareon's face, all with muzzle, red fur, long pointy ears and cream-colored fur-curl on the head that stared back to me.
"You... you said the truth." I whispered in utter shock.
Now I eyed up my whole body, with paws and tail. Still trying to digest my new situation I breathed hard and sat up, front paws supporting my weight.
"You are strange! Explain yourself! Why are you so shocked to see you as a Flareon?" Rain demanded.
"I...I don't know. My memory is shred in pieces, so I can't tell you." My furry head fell down right on my- also furry- chest.
"Dang!" Rain cursed. "That's kinda hard. Well, I certainly hope you'll get them back soon." She said with much sympathy in her voice, though I could pick out a faint sound of dishonesty, what made me vaguely sad. Definitively she had something in mind, if I got my memories back. Though something inside of me said, that I don't really wanted to have them back. Also something told me, I wasn't meant to be a Flareon, what the cause for my startling was. Maybe I was meant to be a human, but I didn't know for sure anymore.
"So what am I supposed to do now? I mean , without memories to look back upon it is rather not really worth living." I sighed depressed. 'Not even can I remember my mother or my father or any other of my family. With no such memories, how can life make sense then, how...' I was ripped out of my thoughts filled with depressing feelings by a slap from a Vaporeon tail.
"Snap out of it! The clan leader is coming over and I don't want you to make yourself ashamed by unfitting behavior." Rain scolded me.
I nodded understandingly.
Only seconds later a Glaceon stepped in followed by a noble-looking Raichu. Rain bowed her head gently.
"Hello Rain. Seems we have a guest. Who are you?" The Raichu asked friendly. Instead of me Rain answered.
"This Flareon fell down the Big Falls."
Sky nodded.
"You want to tell me your story?"
"I...I forgot almost everything, but my last moments. I...I was shot by a couple of bad humans and pushed into the stream. Nothing else. I can't even remember my name."
The Raichu stepped to me and hugged my head.
"Must be hard for you. Arceus must have protected you, for if you were really shot and then fell down the Big Falls... no one is supposed to survive this. And name-wise, I think we can arrange something." He smiled, but I turned away being a little sad.
"Why? Why Arceus? I could have been at a better place now." My head jolted aside when Rain slapped me.
"Stop whining! This is pathetic, especially for a Flareon like you! Get over it, your old life is over and you are also not dead! Be glad that you are alive! Also, if you continue wailing you blame me, too. You know what? I saved you from death and kept you in my hut for a whole week always hoping you would wake up anytime soon and caring for you. With all that you would make a fool of me!" She ranted.
Deep in my heart I knew for sure that she was completely right. I had acted like a total wimp.
"Rain, I am sorry. You are correct. suppose it was not that great. I'll start all over again, with a new life here. Let's begin it with a name for me. You have any ideas? Sky, Blizz?"
The Glaceon flinched when he heard his nickname. Perhaps because he thought he could keep his nose out of the discussion.
"Well, Rain and I found something lying next to you. It is a pile of leaves bound together at the back and on all of those leaves something is written. I assume this is a human language." He handed me a book that laid in in a shelf-like thing.
On the cover I saw some golden letters, that I could strangely read.
"Pyro" I read out loud.
"Pyro? Could it be a tip to your memories? Is that your name?"
'I must admit this sounds a bit familiar Could it really be?'
Rain looked at me inquiring and never ceased to until I finally uttered:
"May be. It sounds familiar, though."
Now Sky spoke up:
"Well then, Pyro, is it. I would like to welcome you to our clan, but our clan laws don't allow strangers to be admitted without passing our trials. Three in number. One of duty. One of trust. And one of responsibility. If you master all these tasks, you are a true member of the Sky-Clan. Blizzard, could you please call out for an assembly, we need to determine who will be his aid."
The Glaceon nodded and marched out closely followed by Sky. Rain stopped me before I could go after them.
"Wait, wait. You're not completely healed. Here, take this berry please."
She reached me the berry Blizz was supposed to get. Shrugging I devoured the berry whole.
After eating the berry Rain started to wonder and asked me: "Hey, Pyro, you're hungry?"
I stared down to my furred belly which began to rumble now that I thought about it.
"Yeah, sorta."
"Grab yourself an apple and then we'll be heading to the assembly."
She pointed to a bowl full of red apples. Fueled by my hunger I sprang up, stormed for the bowl and bit into one apple. At the sudden explosion of taste my eyes sprung open wide. As fast as I could I ate up the fruit and immediately snatched another one while starting to follow Rain. When we stepped out of the hut we were in before I took a glance around. The whole site looked like a camp, split in two parts. On the one side the huts were made of stone, supposedly where the Pichu-evolutions lived, on the other the huts, or tents, were either made of wood, what was rather seldom, or of leaves and grass, where the Eevee-evos had to live, then. Directly in the center of the site there was a podium-like stone where Sky was already standing on. In front of him a "mass" of Pokemon was scattered on the field in front of him, all heads turned to the podium. And this was exactly where Rain also led me to, until we arrived behind Sky, who began to speak then:
"Good day, my friends. We have lot to talk about, but first I want to introduce a soon-to-be member of our clan." He gestured to me to settle next to him and so did I. "This Flareon is named Pyro and he will do the three trials. That means we need an aid for him. Is there anyone volunteering for the job?"
For a while nothing else happened than Pokemon chatting agitatedly.
"I'll do it!"
A soft female voice called out of the mass, instantly silencing it.
"Dusk! Wait, are you sure? You know the consequences!"
I heard someone behind me yelling out in dismay. It was an Umbreon and a quite big one, too.
In the crowd another Pokemon shoved its way to the front.
"Dad, please, I know what I am doing. I want to take my part in the community, decide on my own.
And as you clearly can see, nobody else wanted to offer his help for this poor Flareon."
The soft voice belonged to Dusk, the Pokemon who shoved herself to the empty area right in front of the podium stone. Rather a surprise for me was when I spotted her. Not a normal Umbreon was standing in front of me, instead a shiny one glanced at me with her yellow eyes, looking as like they would pierce right through my soul, but on the other hand they didn't and rather melted away my soul. All her rings, on her ears, on her forehead, on her upper arm, on her upper leg and on her tail shone in a bright cyan like they reflected the light of the absent moon, instead of a normal blue. A sign of grim determination. But with a friendly, nice and comforting look on her face she padded towards me.
"Be welcome, Pyro, my name is Dusk and I chose to be your aid for the trials. We will begin the first one today, but the next two will be on two other days. So I'll invite you over to my nest for the time being until you founded your own family here. You come?"
She motioned to me to follow her as she left the meeting location for a more noble looking hut made of wood with similarities of an human house.
'Why do I know this?'
Shaking it of as another damn curiosity in my life I closed up to Dusk, whose rings changed to a normal coloration, a clear azure.
"Ehh, Dusk? It's not coincidence that your nest is more luxury than others, is it?"
The Umbreon chuckled.
"Correct, I am the daughter of the Eevee-Evolutions chieftain. That means if our clan was to be separated, he would be our new leader."
"Wow, I never hoped for a VIP to be my aid."
Dusk stared at me confused.
"You tell me, what is a VIP?"
Now it was my turn to stare confused.
"You don't know?"
She shook her head negating my question.
"Well, VIP is an... a shortcut for 'very important pers...,er, Pokemon'."
"Very important, huh? Well, never thought I could be, but yeah, sorta."
I notably could hear, the more space she gained from her father, the colloquial her language got. Now that we had arrived in her home she didn't talk like someone in her social position would, rather than that she talked like a normal teen. If I were to judge her age, I would estimate an age of sixteen or seventeen, in human years, just like I am. But Pokemon ages are hard to tell, so I had to ask.
"Dusk..., one question: How old are you exactly?"
"Five springs, why do you ask?"
"Just wanted to know. I don't know how old I am, but it should be the same."
Dusk eyed me suspiciously.
"Hmm, you don't plan something, do you?"
She ask with a piercing voice.
"No...no, what... what should I plan?"
Her stare made me nervous, really, awfully nervous.
"I know what you want. You want the same as all males do!"
She growled teeth bared.
"NO!" I yelled. "Not everyone wants the same. I mean, I have just known you for about fifteen minutes, so why should I. Especially not if this is not based on both sides feeling let alone on one side first of all."
Dusk's gaze softened.
"So, you don't love me, or desire me?"
I grabbed her head firmly.
"How could I? Just because you look nice, are beautiful, maybe even gorgeous? No."
Dusk's eyes widened in incomprehension.
"My... mom once said: 'Son, love is not defined by someone's appearance, but rather by the heart that beats behind the chest of both. If you go out and try to find a mate, you also have to like her heart.' You know, I... I'm thankful... that you volunteered to be my... aid... but, to be true... I don't know you. And before I don't like you as a being, there is no room for such a thought like love."
With the returning of my mom's sentence, my eyes began to tear up and little drops of salty water hit the dusty earth. I lost the grip of her head and my legs gave way beneath me.
'Dammit, Dammit, Dammit!'
Dusk was totally taken aback and looked at me anxious.
"Pyro? What is it?"
"I... I have lost my memories... when I... when I woke up in Rain's... nest... I couldn't remember my prior life. It is so confusing... Some things in my mind tell me I... once was human... some other... say I was born as an Eevee. And now... I remember a statement... my mother said to me... my Eevee-mother... The bad thing is..." A big tear hit the ground with a loud splashing sound.
"I... CAN'T REMEMBER HOW SHE LOOKED LIKE!"
I yelled with an agonizing cry.
"Dammit... this is..."
Even Dusk could not find any words to cheer me up again.
"I can't remember my own mothers face...!"
Helpless as she was, Dusk brought over a pillow for me to lay on.
"Pyro, I think it is the best if we start the trials tomorrow. You gotta weep yourself out, come in terms with your current situation. But I am pretty sure, you'll see your parents again."
I nodded sniffling.
"A male doesn't cry, does he?"
My voice sounded like I had a cold. For response Dusk smiled warmhearted.
"Only real males cry."
She hugged me sympathetically, then she added:
"If you need a shoulder to cry on, I'll be there for you. That's what an aid does."
This made me smile again, though my eyes told a different thing.
"Thanks."
I said simply. When Dusk became aware that her diversionary tactic worked she began admitting:
"There is something I simply have to tell you, if we're to work in a functioning team. With my social position, I was chosen as a successor of of my dad. Well, with guiding you as an aid... well, I sorta gave that up. I'm not a 'VIP' anymore."
My eyes grew big, my mouth was agape wide.
"You gave that up, just because of me?"
"Not just only... I have to admit, that I never really wanted to success my father. I wanted to live like my childhood friends. Free, without thousands upon thousands of rules, prohibitions, just 'cause I..."
Now she mimicked her dad and made a body pose like the stereotypical aristocrat.
"'It doesn't behoove for somebody of your condition to do those inanities.'"
I laughed loud.
"Never heard even those words before..."
Dusk pulled out two straw mats and put them on the ground.
"I heard them almost every day... don't want to hear them from him, nevermore. Come, I made our beds. We ougha gourd the ruins at night, but now you're lucky. We'll do that at daylight, tomorrow."
With these words I saw the sun outside the nest setting behind the horizon, filled with a never-ending amount of trees.
Serenity proceeded to take over my heart and I quickly felt myself being overly tiered.
I never remembered falling asleep, but somehow I did, though.