Inspiration: Of all the (human) characters in the Pokemon anime, I find Domino the most fascinating, even though she only made one anime appearance (and in a special episode, nonetheless).
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, obviously.
"Oddish, use Solarbeam!"
"Ordi!" the blue weed Pokemon shouted. The green leaves on the top of its head spread apart as a yellow light gathered between them. The light grew in intensity until, with a final shout, the Pokemon fired the beam at the opposing Diglett.
"Diglett-dig!" The Pokemon exclaimed. It hastily retreated back into its hole, burrowing away under the ground.
"That'll show you to mess with us!" yelled a blonde-haired girl. She tossed back her curly yellow bangs in an attempted victory pose. The Oddish by her side trilled in delight.
She knelt over the Pokemon and petted it on the head. "Good job, Oddish," she praised it.
"Oddish!" it chirped.
"Domino!"
The girl turned towards her house to see a woman standing, hands on hips, in the doorway.
"M-mom…?" she stuttered
"What have I told you about playing outside, Domino?" her mother sighed.
She leaned over and attempted to scrub a grass stain off her daughter's pink and violet plaid skirt.
"Sorry…" Domino responded. She glanced in a nearby mirror. A young girl, around five years old, stared back at her. Her pale violet eyes gazed out from under two curly, blonde bangs. Her cream, flower-embroidered shirt was slightly dirty, along with her plaid skirt. The pink ribbon tied around her waist was coming undone.
"But I wasn't playing!" she added defensively. "I was trying to keep that Diglett from ruining the soil in the flower beds again!"
The woman smiled at her daughter's slightly annoyed tone. "Next time try to do so without being so messy."
"I will," Domino replied.
Domino's mother studied her daughter for a minute, before finally smiling in acceptance. "Wait here," she said, turning away from the girl and walking out of the room. She returned after a brief pause, carrying a pot in one hand and a bag of soil in the other.
She knelt down until she was face to face with her daughter. "I think it's about time that you help in the family business."
Domino's face lit up. "You mean… I can grow flowers of my own?" she asked ecstatically.
Her mother nodded, lifting Domino's hand and placing a solitary seed on to her daughter's palm. "That's a tulip seed," she explained. "Plant that in soft soil and water it periodically. Be sure it gets plenty of sunlight."
"Thanks, Mom!" Domino exclaimed. She immediately began the task of planting the seed, her Oddish watching intently. Her mother quietly stood up and left the room, leaving the girl to her undertaking.
Domino jumped off the school bus and darted down the street towards her house. The hill she had to climb every day didn't seem as long or as steep as it usually did. Her backpack felt surprisingly light, despite the numerous books packed inside. Today was the day: the day she could officially begin her calling as a horticulturist.
"You've done such a good job," her mother had told her that morning, admiring her tulip. "I think it's time you start helping full-time."
Domino beamed with excitement. She couldn't wait to get home! The day she had been waiting for had finally arrived.
As Domino approached the top of the hill, her pace slowed to a brisk walk. Gathered in the street was a crowd of people. She stepped forward, searching for a path around the multitude, but finding none. "Excuse me," she requested. The man in front of her didn't move. "Excuse me…"
She wasted little time waiting for a response. Gradually, she shoved her way through the sea of people, calling out a "sorry" as she accidentally elbowed a man in the ribs. She sighed with relief upon reaching the front of the crowd, but her attitude soon changed as she found herself blocked by a yellow ribbon. Ahead, countless police officers patrolled her yard. Her house stood behind them, now a black, singing heap of wood. Even the once beautiful flowerbeds were now piles of ashes. The grass nearest to the house had vanished, revealing the now-burnt earth.
Domino's mouth hung ajar. What… had happened?
The police officers scurried about in the yard.
"What was the cause of the fire?" she heard a man ask.
"We think it was arson," Officer Jenny reported, clipboard in hand. An officer approached her, reporting the status of the investigation; Jenny jotted down the information.
Domino felt the crowd behind her part as a reporter shoved her way through. "Excuse me," the reporter inquired. "This, indeed, is a terrible tragedy. May I ask… were there any survivors?"
Domino stared up at the woman standing beside her. A police officer rushed over, and the reporter promptly shoved a microphone under his nose.
"No," the officer replied solemnly. "It appears that the family, along with the Pokemon, were trapped inside…"
The reporter motioned for her cameraman to come closer. Domino vaguely heard the reporter begin her interview, but she paid no heed.
Trapped? What did they mean "trapped"? As Domino stared at what remained of her home, she couldn't force herself to comprehend what had happened.
"Mommy?" she whimpered. "Daddy? Oddish…" This couldn't be real... That's right, this was just a dream. In a few minutes she would wake up to the scent of roses blooming outside her bedroom window. She would walk into the kitchen, where the allure of fresh pancakes awaited her, and eat breakfast with her family. This was all just… a dream.
"Mommy!" she screamed. She dashed under the ropes, desperately running towards her home, now a pile of burnt wood and ashes.
"Hey!" she heard a police officer shout. "It's too dangerous over there!" He forcefully grabbed her arm.
Domino struggled in the officer's grasp. "My family… is still trapped in there!" she choked, her voice cracking slightly.
The officer's grip loosened slightly. "They're fine," he stated. His tone held a false reassurance. But Domino knew that they weren't "fine." They might not even… be alive.
She jerked in the officer's grasp, hopelessly trying to free herself. In a moment of desperation, she turned around and kicked him in the leg. In the officer's surprise, he temporarily released his hold of the girl, and she dashed into the still-smoking building.
"Mommy! Daddy!" Domino coughed as she inhaled the fumes. "Oddish…" She raised her arm in front of her face, hoping to block the stinging odor.
Her home was now a sea of black. This had once been the kitchen, she presumed. The table—she could faintly distinguish it as a table—was the only thing even remotely familiar. Two of its legs had collapsed, causing it to fall to the ground.
Domino sauntered around the house, careful not to touch the still-singing debris.
"Mommy…"
There was no response, no sign of life anywhere in this sea of devastation. But…
She coughed. She could feel the smoke creeping into her lungs.
Domino turned her gaze towards the window. On the windowsill stood a pot containing a single black tulip, the only object in the room that had not been completely incinerated.
"Okay, Oddish, use Sunny Day."
"Ordi!" the Weed Pokemon replied. It hopped on to the windowsill and spread its leaves wide, calling upon the sun's light.
Domino hesitantly reached towards the flower.
"Just a little more…" Domino finished sprinkling water on the tulip. The seed had sprouted, revealing waxy leaves and a thin shoot, topped by a small, pink bulb.
"Your tulip's growing well," her mother complimented.
"You'll make a fine horticulturist one day," her father added with a smile.
"Ordi!" the Pokemon chimed.
With a trembling hand she touched the tulip.
It disintegrated at her touch, reduced to nothing but ashes.
"What are you doing in here!"
Domino didn't answer. She couldn't take her eyes off the place where, moments before, a flower had rested. A beautiful flower, engulfed by flames of anguish.
Officer Jenny tried to coerce the girl to vacate the building. But Domino just stood there with a vacant look in her eyes, neither hearing nor responding to the police chief. Left with no alternatives, Jenny picked up the dazed girl and carried her out of the building.
Domino treaded down the street. Children played in the grass, occasionally pausing their games to stare at the lone, curious girl walking past their houses. But she paid them nomind. Such carefree practices were part of her life no longer.
"Honestly, what were you thinking?" Officer Jenny scolded. "You could have gotten yourself killed!" Domino stared blankly at the police chief.
Officer Jenny sighed. "More importantly, we need to find your parents." She scanned the growing crowd. " They must be worried sick about you."
"They are… not here."
No, they were not here. No matter how many times Domino told herself this fact, she could never fully believe it was real. Her home, her family, her life… all of it had been stolen from her in an instant. Even now, as she walked away from the only life she had ever known, she still imagined that tomorrow she would rush home from school, her mother standing in the doorway to greet her warmly.
But deep in her heart, she knew that she would never see her family again.
A bout of melancholy settled over her. But though she was depressed, she could not bring herself to cry. Tears seemed inadequate, superficial even. Her body fell into a numb state of shock, yet her mind was surprisingly lucid.
There was nothing left for her she continued to walk down the path of no return.
But now where would it lead her?
She didn't know. She wondered briefly if it would have been better if she too had been engulfed in flames...
Domino stalled as a shadow crossed her path. She looked up, neither curious nor apprehensive, and observed the man standing before her. He wore a black pants and a plain black suit, save for a crimson tie. His skin was tanned, and his face was framed by short charcoal hair.
He grinned, his cold, dark eyes staring down at the girl. "Follow me." It was neither an order nor a request: just a statement.
Domino obliged, trailing after the dark man… abandoning her home, her past, and her life.
A single black tulip, engulfed in flames.