I growl at nothing as I awake to a new day. The sun has yet to rise, but I know that it would shine soon enough. I rise from my curled state at the back of my den and shake, letting my fur frizzle back to normal from being matted underneath me for the night. Looking around, letting my eyes adjust to the lack of light, the forest seemed to have a blue tint to it. I spring forward and dash into the forest.

After a bit of running, I hit the small creak that runs through a large portion of the forest. I crouch down and dip my muzzle into the crisp cold water, taking a large drink. As I was finishing, the sun poked through the trees, lighting spots of the forest ground. I stand and smile. I loved mornings like this; the cool air, the sparkle of the dew drops on the leaves of the forest floor, the low mist that hangs around in spots. It was beautiful. I began walking back to my den for another nap, for I was still full from yesterday's feeding.

The low fog clung to my legs as I walked, but I paid it no mind. My eyes allowed me to easily see through the water vapor, and I swerve to the left to dodge another rope snare trap the humans have set. As I pass, I trigger it with my tail, letting it loop around the empty air and jolt up into the trees. I growl at the failed attempt and turn. My den was just ahead and I speed up to reach it. Once inside I resume my position at the back of the tree trunk and lay my head down, chin on my paws and though I was not tired, I close my eyes and rest.

With what seemed like hours pass, I open my eyes to see that forest was fully illuminated by the sun. I yawn and stand, not bothering to shake this time. I walk out of my den and turn. I jump and claw my way up to the top of my den, where I have placed branches and debris to make my perch. Once up, I lie back down and look around. Nothing to report; no new Pokémon, no humans at the moment, and the day was clear. My ears perked up as I heard something. Scratch that; there was a human here. I glance to my right without moving my head to see another shape near the base of a tree, hidden in the shade.

The shape doesn't move for the longest time, and I don't move as well. I strike when I feel threatened or when they piss me off, and this silence was irritating me. Lying completely still, I watch the shape from the corner of my eye. When it stands I jump to my feet and leap down. I sprint at the shape, which was frozen like a Deerling caught in the spotlight, and slam into it. Pinning the human to the ground, I reel my head and, barring my fangs, prepare to rip out its throat.

"Wow, wow, wow! Stop! Don't!" I pause and look at my prey, only to see it was the same human from the other day; Colten. I snarl and bring my face close to his once more. He has his hands up and open to show he had nothing in his grasp. "...Easy."

Again, he talks to me like I'm some sort of disobedient pet! I can tell he sees the anger in my eyes. I bring my head past his face and to his left shoulder, where I grab the collar of his shirt in my teeth. He has just enough time to grab his piece of paper before I start dragging him across the forest floor.

He makes minor sounds as his backside and lower back are stabbed by twigs and run over rocks. Though I ignore his pleas to let him go, I don't plan on killing him. He fights for a bit longer, but once he realizes that I'm not letting go, he stops and lets me drag him in peace. His shoulder bumps my leg occasionally as I proceed. I begin to make soft noises to myself as I try to figure out why this human has pushed his luck with me. He was one of the very few I've been able to have at my mercy and let go. The other humans have never returned. But this one, Colten Grey, has returned, and again I had him at my mercy.

I drag him for several minutes and still he stays still. "…Scarlet? Can I call you that?" I ignore him, but he gathers another breath to speak. "Can I ask where you're taking me?"

Again I don't answer, but I pass one last tree and we enter a lush green pasture. Across the plain is the city of Crest, standing tall with its buildings that touch the very sky itself and lights of yellow and white. I stop walking and throw my head to one side, letting go of Colten's shirt, and flinging him into the tall grass.

He lands with a loud thump and the crushing of the grass lets a new scent breath into the wind. He looks around, then at me. "…You're…you're letting me go?"

I stare at him for a moment longer before turning my backside to him. I dash back into my forest. I run past my den, past the creak, though running aside it, past my hunting grounds, and finally after minutes of running with the creak, I come to its source. It was a lake, nearly clear water filling the basin of rock. A single flat rock stood about three feet from the water's surface in the middle of the lake, about a twenty feet swim. A smaller rock nearly level with the lake's surface passes for a stepping stone. I jump in and swim over to the rock in a fast set pace. Climbing on, I shake somewhat dry and lay down, letting the warm stone relax my muscles. I look around then start to groom myself, taking long strokes of my tongue down my foreleg.

So time passed...the sun began to set...my stomach was still full...and the forest had gone silent for the night. I look up at the starry sky from the short pillar of stone in the lake. I lay on my back, hind legs stretched straight, forelegs up in a begging manner, and tail hanging off the edge of the stone. I allow a small smile to form on my lips as another day has successfully passed with only minor inconveniences. "...I wonder if there are still other electric-types out there?" I ask myself. Yes, I talk to myself a lot, but it keeps one sane. I close my eyes and let myself drift into a light sleep.

My eyes shoot open at a sudden snap. Normally I would have jumped to my feet, but I just lazily roll toward the sound to make it seem like I was still asleep. I catch glimpse of three burly men, all about six feet tall, maybe taller, in plaid shirts and jeans, though the leader was in overalls. He was pointing to the ground and then at me, not noticing I was awake. "Listen you bums," he tries to say quietly, "if you help me catch her, I'll split the profit with y'all."

"But Joe, this is Scarlet we be talkin' 'bout! The Scarlet! The ruthless Pokémon that ain't afraid to attack people!"

"Shut yer yammerin'!" He points to the last member of the crew. "You got anythin' ta add before I goes on?" He shook his head. "Good, now here's what we gonna do. Scarlet's sleepin' right now, so we have the element of surprise."

I hear enough and stand up. The two teammates notice me and back up a step. One of them tried to stammer out a sentence. "...Uh...C-c-captain..."

"Hush! Gather yer guts ya slimy Remoraid you!"

I silently slip down and go under the water's surface. I poke my head up just enough to breath and see. The same employee points at me and stutters. "C-c-captain!" I creep up onto land and stand behind the lead thug. "Captain!"

"What? And keep your voice down, you're gonna," he turns and nearly pushes his nose to mine, "wake...her...up..." His eyes lock onto mine.

I growl at him and he steps back. He then reaches into his front pocket and pulls out what look like pink pokéblocks. The stuttering helper steps back. "Captain, what are you doing?"

"Scarlet may be a killing machine," he stepped back again and held out his hand with the treats, "but she's still a Pokémon, and like all Pokémon their trust can be earned. Watch, I'll make her eat off my hand."

"Yeah, clear up to the elbow!"

"Shut up, she'll take them; ya just have to wait long enough."

He sticks out his hand even further to where there were only a few inches between his fingertips and my nose. I ignore them and continue my gaze into his eyes, which he returned. If he glances away, he loses, and if he loses, he's gonna get hurt. I furrow my brow at such a slow rate, he seems not to notice, but when I finish, I look angry and fierce, but with my fur wet from the water, I may just look angry. He swallows the lump in his throat and a bead of sweat forms on his forehead.

Second turn to minutes, and neither of us budge an inch. My red eyes are still locked into his, and fear and worry reflect from his blue orbs. One of his men, who were sitting behind him in disbelief, hiccups and pats his chest. The other was fiddling with the string of his recording device he had taken out earlier when I started the stare-down. My tail sways back in forth in a slow pattern, and every sixth stoke to the left, I have it sway pass my ear to see if the man flinches. He doesn't, showing off his endurance. Not taking my eyes off his, I sit down with a small huff. I allow his to do the same, but he keeps his arm outstretched.

At least half an hour passes and I'm still engaged in this contest. My fur has dried from this time in the sun, but the leader's collar was soaked with sweat. The man's stomach growls and he lifts his other hand. He makes various signs and then points at me. On cue, the two behind the man stand and slowly, and at a distance away, walk towards me. They pass my field of vision and I twitch my tail in a faster, but more erratic, motion. One of them snap a branch as the creep closer and I break my focus on the man in front of me to look. A huge mistake. The burly man who had the pokéblocks drops them and lunges forward, catching me and knocking me to the ground. He has my left foreleg pinned, but I swat at him with my right. I scrape his cheek but he pushes more of his weight on me.

The taller of the other two reaches down to help their boss, but I push the leader off of me and jump toward him. I catch the tall goon's arm in my jaw and bring him to the dirt. He screams in pain. "Damn it! Get her off!" I feel the other two grab at the fur in my back. Before they tear me off their friend, I use a Crunch and break the man's arm, then I tear it off just below the elbow. He screams and rolls away, holding the stub I left him. The two toss me back and I drop the arm as I land. The man had stayed true to his word, although I didn't get a chance to eat the gory limb. I glance at the twitching hand, then back at the three. One is walking toward me while the leader is down holding his worker. Blood gushes from the man's limb and he constantly screams.

I jump at him with a Slash, since I don't know any distant moves, and catch his shirt. It rips open and I scrape his chest, but he catches me in a headlock as I land. He falls with me and lands on top of me, pinning me on my stomach. He hits me above my right eye and I roar in response. He tries again, but I catch his hand in my teeth, shedding even more blood. He yells and rips his hand from my grasp and reaches into his back pocket. I don't know what he brings out, but I shake and jump under his weight, making the object fly from his grasp.

I slid out from under him and jump at him. As he lands, I reel back my head to throw another Crunch toward his jugular. I bring my head down, and pain shoots through my right side, then it doubles. I miss the man completely and he slugs the side of my neck, forcing me off of him. I land on my left side, wheezing in pain. I feel the hot sensation of blood running down my right foreleg, and I can't move.

"Why the fuck didn't you let me do that in the fucking first place!" The man he hit me rises and leans over me. "…I told ya we should've done that that in the damn beginning."

The leader walks over to his side. "…She done killed Jeff. She's a tough one." I wheeze again and the leader hands his last lackey something. "Here Jimmy, take yer gun back."

He pushes it away and points at me. "Why didn't you let me shoot her in the first place? Jeff could still be alive now!"

Joe, I think his name was, shakes his head. "If she's in good health, we make more money." He leans down toward my face. "But with a a couple bullets in her shoulder, I guess it doesn't matter much." He brings the butt of the pistol down on my temple, and my world goes black.