I was in that special state between consciousness and unconsciousness. I didn't want to wake up. The sleep-consumed half of me seemed really appealing right now. But something was nudging my side.
I grudgingly opened my eyes and the small amount of light that penetrated the leaves of the great trees nearly blinded me. But the thing that finally got me to open my eyes was the dark face of a Houndour blinking down at me.
"Are you okay?" said the Pokemon in a low growl. It wasn't a threatening growl, but strangely calming and kind.
I blinked groggily, my mind still unclear. "I dunno. Where am I?"
The Dark Pokemon tilted his head to the side, his black eyes thoughtful. "Well we dont really have a name for it. Pokemon just call it Hero Town because of the Rescue Teams." His ears twitched at the mention of these 'Rescue Teams'. I had no idea what they were so I simply returned his explanation with a blank look.
He just stared back steadily. "You're not from around here. I'm Devil, by the way. What's your name?"
"I-I don't remember," I muttered weakly. "How can I understand you? I'm a human and you're a Pokemon."
Devil let out a short little bark of mirth. "A human?" he scoffed. "Come look at your reflection." I hadn't noticed before, but the scenery was actually pretty nice for a forest. Endless rows of trees extended in all directions. You can name any tree- birch, pine, oak- and it'd be here. The grass was soft underneath me and the air smelled clear of human contamination. It was beautiful.
But the most breathtaking thing was the lake. I lay in a heap beside it, marveling at it's glamour. It had a gentle glow and the surface glittered in the weak sunlight. The body of water almost seemed magical.
"They say the legendary Pokemon Suicune purified this lake before he vanished. That's why they call it Crystal Lake," sighed Devil absentmindedly, breaking me away from the lake's grasp. I shook my head, remembering that I was supposed to be looking at my reflection. My eyes rolled over and focused on Crystal Lake's surface.
What I saw wasn't what I was expecting. The lake showed me a little black fox with red markings. I blinked, puzzled, and the fox blinked too. Then the fox's ears flattened uncomfortably and I realized I had instinctively done so as well. "I'm...I'm a Zorua?" I spluttered. It kind of hurt as I attempted to stand.
Devil shifted his paws worriedly. "Well, yeah. I thought you were kidding when you said you were human. I can show you around town, and I own a little place that you can rest in until you get better and remember your name and stuff. I don't get a lot of company but..." Half of the sentence came out kind of awkwardly.
"Sounds good. It's not like I know what else to do." I smiled, but even that was painful.
"Anyway, since you can't remember your name, what do I call you? The people of Hero Town can't just call you 'That Female Zorua'."
I mulled it over for a bit. "Hmm...I guess you can call me..." My eyes drifted to my reflection again. The red on my fur reminded me of fire sparking from lumps of coal. Although, I don't think 'reminded' is the right word.
"You can call me Coal."