The Rilou trudged slowly through the deep, cold snow this late Christmas Eve night. He had been traveling alone for about a month now, as a wild Pokémon. He just wanted a trainer, one who could take care of him and would love him. But the only ones he had met so far were mean trainers only interested in power. This would be his first Christmas alone, without his family. He regretted leaving them but he knew he had to. He had to move on. Get stronger. Make a life of his own. After walking a while in the dark and shivering blizzard, he noticed a small cave that was covered in snow. Needing a break from this weather and the night, he decided to go inside.
The cave was even smaller inside, with a small Pokémon in there. Rilou paused when he noticed the gorgeous sleeping fire fox that was curled up in a ball, asleep. He figured he should leave, but the Fennekin had already heard him come in and opened her dark orange eyes in surprise. Immediately she stood up on her small four legs. There was a small moment of silence between the two Pokémon, as both weren't sure what to say. Finally Rilou broke the silence.
"I.. I just needed a place to rest..." He slowly explained. "But I didn't realize someone was living here... I'll go..." Rilou turned to leave but was stopped by the Fennekin's voice.
"Wait...!" She called out. "I just... I was resting here too... You're welcome to stay, I'll be leaving in the morning..."
Rilou slowly turned back to her. "...Thank you." He spoke carefully. He had been afraid to stay at first since normally other Pokémon were possessive of their territory, but it seemed this Fennekin was kinder.
Fennekin laid back down as Rilou sat on the other side of the small cave. Both were quiet for a while until a gust of icy wind blew inside the cave, making Rilou shiver. Fennekin seemed to notice that he was cold so she used Ember on a log that was between them, making a small fire.
"...What is a Fennekin like you doing in Snow Point Mountains?" Rilou decided to ask, striking up a conversation while moving closer to the fire to get warm. "I thought fire Pokémon didn't like the cold."
Fennekin sighed sadly. "Well..." She was hesitant to tell, so decided to ask him first. "What about you? You're not an ice type."
Rilou paused but decided it couldn't hurt to tell her. "I was looking to find a trainer..." He explained. "I want to be caught and part of a team.. With a nice trainer." He stopped at first but then continued. "I left my family behind to find someone... But it's been a month and I haven't found anyone who wants me and is kind enough..."
Fennekin perked up, looking straight at him. "...Having a trainer is a wonderful thing, especially if it's a good one." She told him. "They love you, they feed you, they take care of you, they train you..." She trailed off.
"You... Have a trainer?" Rilou questioned since it seemed like she knew a lot.
Deciding to finally tell him, she nodded. "I do have a trainer, her name is Melissa." She smiled ever so slightly from the fond memories with her. "I was her first Pokémon.. She caught a Starly, and we started a journey with her... We were going to beat all the Pokémon Gyms and help her become the Champion.."
"What happened?" Rilou asked because she had stopped for a moment.
"...We got separated here in this blizzard... It's been a week now and I still haven't found them..." She sadly explained. "But I'm sure she's looking... She's somewhere in these Mountains, looking for me... Once we finally find each other, we'll go beat the Gym in Snow Point City and continue our journey."
"I hope you find your trainer." Rilou told her, feeling bad for her.
"And I hope you find a trainer." Fennekin replied back.
They sat in silence for a while again, with the only sounds the whooshing cold blizzard outside.
"You know.. I'm sure Melissa wouldn't mind having you on our team." Fennekin suggested, and Rilou's face lit up.
"Really?" He asked, with excitement in his tone.
Fennekin watched, seeing how happy he looked. "Really." They both smiled at each other, as the fire began to die out.
"Well.. Thank you." He spoke happily, slowly lying down on the cold cave ground tiredly. "I think.. We should rest. And tomorrow... We'll find Melissa."
Fennekin watched him, still smiling a little. "Yes... I agree." Silence came back as Rilou slowly drifted to sleep, with only Fennekin still awake. She watched as he was shivering while sleeping, probably freezing. Standing up, Fennekin carefully walked over to Rilou, trying not to wake him, and lied down beside him so their bodies were touching. Still asleep, he stopped shivering when he felt her warm body against him. Eventually Fennekin too drifted off to sleep with him.
The next Christmas morning, the two woke up, ready to go out. "The blizzard... Stopped." Rilou spoke, going outside the cave with Fennekin following. Both looked up at the sky, shocked and happy at the same time. Now that the blizzard had ended, everything was more clear and seeable.
Fennekin looked around, and from a distance she noticed footprints that were fresh that looked to belong to a human. Excitedly, she ran over to them. "Look! Look! Footprints!" She called out, sniffing them, as Rilou hurried over to her. "They're Melissa's...! She was here!" Both looked at each other happily.
"Then let's follow them!" Rilou said as the two Pokémon began to chase after the footprints. After a while they followed the footprints to Snow Point City, but Fennekin still didn't see her trainer. "Do you see her?" He asked, since there were too many footprints everywhere now to follow Melissa's anymore.
Fennekin looked around but didn't see her, so she walked further into the town with Rilou. "I don't see her..." They passed other trainers and Pokémon when Fennekin suddenly spotted a Pokémon Center. "Oh...! Melissa goes there to heal us up all the time...! Let's go there!" She raced towards it.
"Wait up..!" Rilou called after her, running after her to the Pokémon Center. They both entered the Pokémon Center where Fennekin finally spotted her trainer with Nurse Joy at the front desk.
"I still couldn't find her..." Melissa, a long brown haired trainer with blue eyes sadly told Nurse Joy. "Poor Fennekin... She's out there somewhere, all alone and cold..."
"Melissa!" Fennekin yipped happily, running straight to Melissa and jumping up at her while Rilou followed slowly.
Melissa turned to face the fire fox Pokémon in surprise, which quickly turned to excitement. "Fennekin...!" She picked up her precious Pokémon, hugging her tightly. Both were so happy to see each other. "You came here... Oh, I was so worried..."
"I missed you so much.." Fennekin cried to Melissa, but all the trainer could hear were the Pokemon's cries since she couldn't understand Pokémon language. After their reunion, Fennekin remembered Rilou and jumped down to him. "Melissa! This is Rilou, can he join our team?" She asked even knowing her trainer couldn't understand her.
Melissa looked at her Fennekin and the wild Rilou. "Are you a wild Pokémon?" She asked him.
"I am.." Rilou replied, but was only heard to the trainer as a Pokémon cry. Fennekin nudged Rilou, trying to explain to her trainer what she wanted.
"Oh... You want him to join our team?" Melissa questioned, understanding what she meant. Fennekin let out a happy approving cry. "Alright..." She took out a Poké Ball. "I'm going to catch you now, okay?" Rilou smiled at the trainer, feeling more happy than ever. Finally, he was getting his dream of having a kind trainer. And Fennekin would be with him too.
Melissa threw the Pokè Ball at him, waited for it to catch, then let him back out of his Pokè Ball. "Finally..! I have a trainer!" He shouted happily, as Fennekin cheered with him.
"Now that you're back and Rilou has joined our team..." Melissa said to them slowly. "How about we go train for the next Gym?" Both Pokémon cried out in agreement.
Fennekin had finally been reunited with her trainer. Rilou finally found a trainer he wanted. Melissa finally found her Fennekin and a new companion. And Fennekin and Rilou, together, would help their trainer become the new champion. Surprisingly it would be a good Christmas.