Author's note: Welcome to To Hone a Leaf Blade! This is the first story I've ever written. I've read many Pokemon stories here on FFN and was inspired to write my own story. I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.

Finding a specific place in the middle of a forest was hard. Every tree looked the same. I've searched for my home for a month now. After years of being away, I had no idea how I might find my home other than directionless wandering. At the moment, I was resting under a Maple tree after a meal of Oran berries.

I was watching a figure soar through the sky. The figure stopped, looked back down at me, then swooped down to me. "What are you doing here?" He asked in a gruff voice. It was a Talonflame.

I cowered a bit from his menacing stance, but said, "Hi, uh… I'm just wandering around the forest."

The intimidating bird narrowed his yellow eyes on me, and asked, "Why are you wandering around the forest?"

"Uh… well," I hesitated, distracted by the piercing stare, "I-I used to live somewhere in the forest… a long time ago, but I was caught by a human-"

"Human? There are no humans anywhere around here! You're a liar! You must be a Raider!" the Talonflame boomed, and before I knew it I had ducked to avoid the dangerous swing of his wing.

"Whoa, hey! What's the big idea?!" I yelled.

"Get away from here, you Raider!" screeched the Talonflame.

"What's a Raider?" I asked.

"Don't play dumb with me!" the Talonflame roared, attacking me with his wing again. As I hopped backwards to avoid the vicious blow, I noticed an area on the bottom of his wing that was missing feathers and had a distinct scar. It was so distinct that I could remember seeing it before, a long time ago…

"Hey, I think I know you!" I called out to the Talonflame, who had flown upwards and was preparing to attack me again. Upon hearing me say that, he narrowed his eyes on me. "Are you Fletchy?" I asked.

"What did you just call me?" squaked the bird, his voice now more confused than threatening.

"Fletchy. I think I recognize that wing scar. Did you use to live with a family of Pidgeys?"

"And who are you?" he inquired, now as curious as ever.

"I'm Hickory! Remember me? I'm a Flareon now, but I used to be your Eevee pal!"

The Talonflame's acute and focused eyes widened when he heard my name. "Hickory...? It's been years since you disappeared! Is it really you?"

"Yes, it's me. So I guess that means you are Fletchy! You've certainly grown so much; you're no longer the little tweety Fletchling, huh?"

The Talonflame chuckled and said, "Nope, I'm a big, tough Talonflame now. Speaking of which, I have a new name. I'm called Falc now."

"Alright, but you'll always be Fletchy to me," I answered, stifling a laugh.

"Please call me Falc now? I haven't been Fletchy for such a long time."

"Okay, okay… Falc," I said. Falc grinned.

"You've grown a lot as well, You're a fire type now. We both went from normal types to fire types," Falc remarked. "So what happened to you? Where have you been all this time?"

"Well, one day I wandered off on my own and was caught by a human," I started.

"But there are no humans even remotely close to this area," Falc interrupted.

"My trainer had been lost in the forest for a days before catching me, but eventually made it back to places with humans. Have you ever seen what it's like outside of the forest?"

"Yes, I have. When I evolved into a Fletchinder, I took to the skies to travel, and I saw all the stuff that humans built. It was quite shocking."

"Well anyway," I continued, "I was brought into the human environment by my trainer. When he first caught me he had only recently left his home and was pretty inexperienced. I really missed everyone back home, but I got used to my trainer and my teammates. Besides, back then, there was no way for me to return home anyway."

"I trained and grew strong and we went on many adventures. Eventually I evolved into a Flareon. My life was pretty enjoyable. But as time went on and my trainer grew older, he started getting involved with a bad group of people. He started committing crimes and doing other bad stuff with this group. Soon enough, some of his other Pokémon and me made the painful decision to leave our trainer. Despite years of being with him, he was no longer the same boy that he was when he was younger and our loyalty left us. That was about a year ago. After we left, I traveled with my friends to find their old homes. Now I'm here, looking for my home."

"Well Hickory, you've found home. Welcome back!" exclaimed Falc.

I was home. I felt a wave of comfort on the inside that I hadn't felt in a long time upon hearing that. After many years of adventure, I was finally back home. "So, could you lead the way to my old den?" I asked.

Falc thought for a moment, then said, "Sorry, I don't really remember where it is. I haven't been there since you disappeared."

"Alright, well lead me in the right direction and I'll see if anything looks familiar," I requested.

"Okay, it's this way," he said, pointing in the direction with his wing. With a few flaps, he was in the air gliding with me following on foot.

"Wait, sorry, I can't lead you for long. I'm still on watch duty," said Falc.

"What are you watching for?" I asked.

"Raiders," Falc said promptly, flapping high into the skies.

"Wait!" I called. "What are Raiders?"

"They are a group of bandits who attack Pokémon and steal stuff, and it's my job to stop them! I lost some time talking to you and have to continue my patrol now! See you soon Hickory!" Falc hollered back, flying off above the treetops.

"Wait!" I yelled, but Falc was already out of sight and earshot. He was certainly exceptionally fast now.

I continued to go in the direction that Falc went in because if he was guarding that area, there must be other Pokémon there, and I might find someone else I know or some landmarks I might recognize. I did recognize the trees in this area, although they didn't seem as tall since I was a lot taller as a Flareon than as an Eevee. Eventually, the forest thinned out into a field of tall grass and flowers. I felt joyful upon recognizing the field. This was a place I often played at as a kit!

"Wow, someone's grown a berry garden here!" I thought, spotting the area of thriving plants at the side of the field. Approaching the garden, I saw several rows of all kinds of berry bushes.

I came upon a row of Figy bushes, my favorite berry, and my mouth started to water. I continued through the rows of bushes to see what other berries were grown here. There were lots of Oran, Sitrus, and Pecha berries, and many different berries that had just one bush. About where I estimated was the middle, my eyes were glued to a magnificent sight - a Custap berry bush. Custap berries were my second favorite berry; I'm not crazy about sweet berries, but Custap berries were just so incredibly good in both taste and texture.

I haven't had a Custap berry since I was taken away from the forest, and back then I rarely got to have one because they were super rare and very hard to grow. I vaguely remembered when I last has a Custap berry; it was with my best childhood friend Maple, who was also an Eevee. She would go crazy when we found one to eat because she loved them so much. Luckily she still always shared with me. I remembered how she said she wanted to grow her own Custap berry bush.

I was so distracted by the sight of the Custap berry bush and my reminiscing that I wasn't watching where I was going. I turned the corner and-

"Oof!"

I reeled backwards, rubbing my head with my paw where it has impacted with another head. I looked up, and standing before me was a Leafeon, also rubbing its head.

"Sorry," I apologized.

"It's alright," said the Leafeon in a soft, feminine voice. "Welcome to my garden."

Something about her voice felt familiar somehow, but I didn't how. "So you grew all this?" I asked.

"Yup," she answered.

"This Custap bush is really amazing. It must have been really hard to grow," I said.

"Yeah, it was, but it was well worth it. Custap berries have been my favorite berry ever since I was a kit. Unfortunately, the Custap berries aren't ready yet, otherwise you could have one," she said.

"Maple would really love this Leafeon," I thought to myself.

"Feel free to pick any berries that you like," the Leafeon said pleasantly, then she walked off to another part of the garden.

I watched her walk off; something about the way she walked was familiar to me for some reason. "Watching the way someone walks is weird," I told myself, yet I had a feeling I knew the Leafeon. Wait, could that Leafeon possibly be Maple? The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Leafeons evolved from Eevees. I got really excited by the thought of seeing my best friend again after so many years. I quickly searched the rest of the garden, finding her next to an Oran berry bush, examining it.

"Excuse me, what's your name?" I inquired.

"My name is Maple. What's yours?" She answered.

"Maple! It's me, Hickory! I'm back!" I exclaimed in a burst of joy.

Her eyes lit up when I said who I was. She stared at me for a moment, then exclaimed, "Hickory! Is it really you?"

"Yeah, I know it's been a long time, but I'm back!"

"So where have you been all this time? One day you just disappeared!"

"I wandered off to the edge of the forest on my own and was caught by a human."

"I've never seen a human before. I've only heard stories about them. Are humans bad?"

"Some are, but most aren't."

"So... You left home to go on an adventure with a human?" Maple asked in an accusing voice.

"No! I didn't want to leave home, the human just took me away and I didn't know the way back." I looked at the floor solemnly. "I really missed you and my parents and would have come back immediately if I could."

"I spent weeks looking for you," said Maple. "Every morning after waking up I would go to your den to see if you were home yet. Then I would spend most of the day looking all over the surrounding area for you. Even after your parents gave up and stopped looking, I kept searching for a week before giving up. I really missed you."

"I'm really sorry…" I didn't know what else to say. Honestly, I was really thrilled that she cared about me that much to search for me for that long, and wasn't thinking about how sad it must have been for her. After being taken away, I really missed my parents, Maple, everyone else I knew, and my home, but I kind of casted those thoughts away and tried to get used to and enjoy my new life, making the best out of the situation.

"Well, you're here now, and that's what matters," said Maple, smiling sweetly at me. I smiled back, but then felt myself start to blush, and had to look away. She was really beautiful as a grown up Leafeon and I didn't expect to feel this way. As I grew up while I was away I realized that I cared for my friend as more than just a friend.I was really looking forward to seeing her again, but I didn't expect to feel uncomfortable like this.

"You're a big strong Flareon now," said Maple.

"And you're a lovely Leafeon now," I said, putting words to my thoughts without thinking about it. I realized what I had just said a second later, and instantly averted my eyes, blushing.

"Uh, th-thanks," she said hesitantly. There was an awkward silence for some time until I said, "If I remember correctly, my family's den is this way," pointing in the direction from the field where I thought my family's den was.

"Yeah, but there might be someone else living there now," said Maple.

"What? Where are my parents?"

"Oh, I forgot to say, your parents left a few years ago. They, uh, I guess they decided that you wouldn't be showing up back home any time soon, so they decided to travel around. They said they always wanted to go on adventures rather than stay put forever, and said they might possibly run into you some day. They come back here every year or so, in case you do return."

I felt sad that I my parents weren't here to see me return all grown up. I wanted to see their expression when they see all that I could do. But mostly I wanted to see them because the second part of my childhood was missing them and I wanted them back in my life.

"I'll lead you to your den," said Maple, starting to walk.

Although I must have walked the route from the field to my den countless times when I was younger, I couldn't recognize much along the way. Either the scenery changed a lot, or I couldn't remember the area from so long ago. The walk from the field to my old den was shorter than I remembered, probably because I was a little Eevee back then and a grown up Flareon now.

I knew for sure it was my old den because of the Figy berry tree right outside of it. As a kit, I would get my breakfast from that tree most of the time. I remembered the tree as beautiful and bright green, with ripe, orange Figy berries hanging from the branches. This tree was the reason Figy berries were my favorite. But now the tree was old, its bark less smooth, and with few berries on it.

The den was vacant, with no visual trace of any recent inhabitants. However, I caught a faint scent of an unfamiliar Pokémon.

"What if someone lives here now?" I asked Maple.

"It doesn't seem like anyone has been here recently, so it's up for grabs," she answered.

"So I can just take the den if it's empty?" I asked.

"Yeah… why not?" Maple answered, as if it was obvious.

"But how would you feel if you left your den for a month or so and found someone else living there?"

"Well, if you leave for a month, that means you're not living there anymore."

"Oh… Well with humans, they keep their living places until they give it to someone else. I guess I need to relearn the way things are done here in the forest."

"I'm sure it'll be fine if someone returns. You can explain that this was your old home," Maple added.

"Alright," I said.

"It's getting a little late now," said Maple, pointing at the sun. Its position near the horizon indicated that it was late afternoon. "You should gather some leaves to make a bed for tonight," Maple suggested. "I'll help you out," she offered.

"Good idea," I answered.

As we gathered leaves for a bed, I told Maple some stories about my adventures. We had some good laughs together. After we made my bed, we headed back to the field and to her garden for berries for dinner.

"How did you grow all this?" I asked as we entered the rows of berry bushes.

"I, uh… have this special power to grow plants. It's hard to explain."

"Can you show me?"

"It only works when the sun is overhead and shining the brightest. I'll show you some other day."

She went to the Figy berries and plucked a bunch with her tail. "I know you love these," she said, grinning.

"You got that right, thanks," I said. We both started eating the Figy berries. The hot, spicy juice burned my tongue in a delightful way. "These are perfect!" I exclaimed between bites. She smiled sweetly at me. I looked back down at the Figy berries before my cheeks turned to the color of said berries.

After we finished eating, we continued to talk until an Umbreon passed by the garden.

"Hey, dear!" the Umbreon called out.

"Hey!" Maple responded cheerfully.

It took me a moment to realize what the Umbreon meant by "dear," and I instantly felt uncomfortable.

"Who's this?" Asked the Umbreon, padding up to us. His voice was naturally gruff and masculine, which sort of set me off.

"Spruce, this is my friend, Hickory. Hickory, this is my mate, Spruce."

I felt a wave of surprise pass through me, which was quickly replaced with jealousy and even some anger, and I struggled to stay calm on the outside. Maple had a mate?! I already didn't like this guy based off of his voice alone, and he's my friend's mate? I felt a sinking feeling develop in my stomach which wouldn't go away.

"Nice to meet you," said Spruce, but his voice sounded rather hollow.

"Uh… yeah, n-nice to meet you too," was my immediate, expected response, but on the inside meeting him didn't feel nice at all. "Maybe it's just a first impression kind of thing and he'll be cool once I get to know him, " I thought.

I sensed that Spruce was staring at me for a few seconds without saying anything. I instantly wondered what he was speculating about me, given how much I was already speculating about him.

"I've never seen you around here before," Spruce started, "what are you here for?"

"That's a rather hostile question to ask," I thought to myself. "I used to live here when I was young," I answered. "Maple and I were childhood friends. I was taken away from here when I was young and I grew up somewhere else, but now I'm back here." I didn't feel like explaining the whole human thing with him.

"Okay, well I'm the night guard in this area. I protect everyone from the Raiders at night. Don't you worry, you're in good paws," he stated. I thought he sounded pretty arrogant. "My beautiful mate would agree, right Maple?"

Maple blushed slightly from her mate's words, but said, "Of course."

I was churning on the inside with both jealousy and resentment of Spruce.

"Maple, shouldn't you be heading home?" Spruce suggested to his mate.

"Yeah, I guess," said Maple turning around and starting to walk off.

I didn't want her to go yet; I still wanted to talk to her about more things.

"Bye, Hickory!" Maple called over her shoulder cheerfully.

"Bye!" I answered in a tone of false, forced cheerfulness.

Just when they turned around a tree, I saw Spruce nuzzle Maple on the cheek as he asked her, "What did you do today, love?" Then they were out of sight and earshot, but certainly not out of mind.

I moped back to my quiet, empty den, alone. Despite my journey here and the brand new bed of soft leaves, I couldn't fall asleep easily because I kept thinking about Maple. I felt really, really sad that I couldn't be with my best friend. We were always closer than most friends were, though I didn't think about it back then. Did she not feel for me at all? But, I was gone for years. What did I expect, that she would stay alone forever, waiting for a long lost friend who mysteriously disappeared? She would naturally find a mate; most Pokémon do.

But I wanted to be with her. The desire was burning me from the inside. Angry rants about Spruce filled my thoughts. No, these are bad thoughts; I should not be thinking so selfishly. Maple's still my friend, and that'll always be true. But… I love her…