Light snowfall coming from the gray clouds above covered my coat in snowflakes. I sighed in content. I don't mind the cold anymore. I sort of gotten used to it. The morning sun dimly shone through the dark clouds, causing a smile to tug at the corners of my muzzle. I was the first to awake as usual. I shuffled my paws anxiously and looked all around me. Snow of course, but if you look past it then you can see a beautiful view of frosted trees and mountains.

I looked behind me at the clothed door. Still too early for them I guess. I stifled a yawn and gazed over the horizon again. It's funny. I mean I've been living this life for about three months and so much has happened, but… There's always something bugging me. There's this aching inside of me that keeps on pestering me no matter what I do. I don't know what it is.

"Hey there, princess." I nearly jumped out of my coat as a mocking Weavile stepped out from the cave's entrance. I gritted my teeth in irritation from seeing him smile with pleasure. How dare he scare me like that!

"What's your problem?" I calmly argued, glowering over my shoulder with scorn.

Scratch crossed his arms and tilted his head. "What? Can I not say hello?" He sneered.

I flicked my tail in annoyance and veered my attention back onto the winter setting. Scratch has been doing this to me monotonously ever since we allowed him to live with us. Stupid Weavile doesn't even appreciate what we've done for him. I sensed Scratch watching me from behind. He's bound to say something stupid soon.

My prediction came true as the clawed Pokemon opened his yap. "Don't get your fur frizzled. Jeez, Yang is ten times more fun than you and that stupid furball in that infernal cave." Scratch pointed out in a bored hiss.

I let out a huff of resentment. If there are two Pokemon in this world that should have never met, it is totally Yang and Scratch. At first they deeply despised each other. Then suddenly, one day, they realized that they were both sarcastic fools that talked nothing but smack. I hope no one else has to experience such horror when these two meet up with one another. I don't even know how I put up with it.

"Morning…" A dark, groggy voice emerged from the cave behind me.

My mood brightened as I heard the voice. I turned around hastily. "Good morning, Burden!" I saw that the red Absol was still exhausted. However I aim to fix that.

"Here comes the bride!" Scratch rasped sarcastically. He started to chuckle at his own comment.

Slowly turning his head, Burden gave Scratch a menacing glare. "I'm not in the mood, Scratch."

The Weavile stopped laughing, his expression turned serious. "Pfft. That's it, I'm going off to Eterna Forest. You Pokemon are total joy kills." With that, Scratch hopped over towards the mountain trail and soon disappeared into the frost tipped pines. He's visiting Yang once more it seems. I sighed at this.

I glanced over at Burden from the corner of my eye and flinched. Not a good morning for him I suppose. I opened my mouth to say something but the shiny Absol that trudged up beside me beat me to it. "So how was your morning?" Burden tiredly asked, plopping down on the ground right next to me.

I stared down at my paws and replied. "Nothing special." I plainly retorted.

"I see." Burden yawned, putting his head down on his forepaws and closing his sapphire eyes. "Same here."

I couldn't help but stare at the Absol. He seems so peaceful, yet fierce. The scythe on his head gives off that look I guess. Apparently as I was daydreaming I didn't notice that Burden was glancing up at me from the corner of his eye. I immediately turned my head away. How rude to look at someone like that! I shook my head to clear my mind.

"You okay?" The sleepy Absol questioned, lifting his head up in concern.

"N-no!" I sharply answered. Quickly, I realized that I was panicking and calmed down. "I'm fine. I'm just tired." I sat down and began to groom myself. Using a habit to my advantage isn't too noticeable. I mean, no one else has noticed it before… Right?

Burden shrugged carelessly and lowered his head back onto his forepaws. I quietly sighed and wrapped myself with my big, fluffy tail. Why am I so awkward when it comes to making conversation?

"Would you just shut up!?" Burden shouted. My ears flattened against my head as I backed up against the 'neat' corner of the separated room. I don't like verbal fighting as much as I like physical fighting. Right now, four Pokemon are yelling at each other. I'm grateful to be left out of the situation but… I also feel like I've been abandoned.

"No!" Yang shouted darkly. "I can say whateva I want!" He growled.

Scratch took a step in front of Yang. "You just want to stop us from having fun!" The Weavile rasped.

"How is stealing things fun?!" The shiny Espeon known as Ying screamed into our minds.

I sat solemnly in the corner of the room, still, watching the fight progress much to my anguish. For a moment, everyone looked like they were in a double battle. Burden and Ying versus Scratch and Yang. The atmosphere grew tense as everyone abruptly stopped arguing to menacingly glared at each other. Why did Yang influence Scratch to steal? Partners in crime. That must be it. He wanted a lackey.

My thoughts were interrupted by Burden's stern tone. "You know what Scratch? Why don't you just live here from now on? We certainly don't need YOU around in the cave!"

"That's just fine with me!" Scratch yelled back stubbornly. "I'll make a place to sleep around here. I don't need YOUR shelter!" He raised a claw up, like he was going to attack.

Burden crouched down, ready to counterattack. Suddenly, Ying and Yang started to enter their fighting poses too. I felt anger of my own start to rise. I was angry at Yang for starting all this up. I was angry at Scratch for learning his behavior. I was angry that I wasn't acknowledged. I was angry at everything. All I wanted at that moment was for the fighting to stop. My old fighting spirit unleashed itself as I let loose a blazing Flamethrower between the two opposing forces.

All the Pokemon blinked and looked at me in shock and confusion. Anger flared wildly in my chest. "ENOUGH!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. "I've had it! I'm tired of everyone fighting! JUST STOP!" The room fell silent again. I panted after emptying out all of my frustration. Everyone looked at me like I was crazy. I gave no mind to that though. I immediately felt like a demented Spinda.

Noticing the uncomfortable silence, I recollected myself and lowered my ears as I bowed my head apologetically. "Please stop arguing." I murmured and looked up at them all with pleading eyes. "Yang, you have been stealing, lying and illegally bargaining for a long time. Teaching such things to Scratch isn't exactly helping everyone's lifestyles." Scratch's eyes connected with mine. "Scratch, if you can't take responsibility of your own actions…" My composure returned and I stood erect with a firmer expression on my face. "Then you will have to live… somewhere else."

I continued to stand boldly. The room remained silent, all eyes still on me. The pit of my gut seemed like it had a knot in it as I felt my proud stature begin to fade away. It was Scratch's low yet wispy voice that broke the silence. "That's fine with me." He muttered. "I'm going to go rogue again and live in Eterna City." The Weavile's cocky personality returned. "That town has more life and food in it anyway!" Scratch jerked his head away with crossed arms.

Ying nodded in a cold yet agreeable way. "As long as you don't steal anything of mine again… I don't care." The emerald Espeon looked away and muttered purposely in our minds. "That Soothe Bell sure would come in handy right now…"

Burden glowered at the Weavile, finally done staring at me with questioning eyes. "I never knew you would be this much of a handful." He silently growled.

Scratch smiled proudly after that comment. It made me want to knock him out. However, I am the peacemaker in this situation. Knocking out Scratch would result to a huge brawl. I simply stood and nodded, faking a small grin of content.

Yang flicked his tail in displeasure as he walked towards the exit. "I'm outta here. Smell ya furballs later." With that, Yang disappeared through the branched door. All of us shook our heads is disapproval except for Scratch who followed after his close friend in pursuit.

"We are awfully sorry for putting you through that Miss Pyra." Ying bowed his head as he mentally spoke. "It was improper of us to start an argument like that." The shiny feline rose and stared at me with begging eyes.

I blinked. "Oh, no, I'm sorry!" I stammered. "I didn't mean to outburst like that."

"It's okay." Burden padded up behind me. "I understand."

I focused on my paws. I think I just made myself look like an idiot back there. That is no way to handle such a situation! Well, at least the conflict is settled. I jeered my head up as I saw Ying trot up to me.

"To tell the truth Pyra, I don't really need the Soothe Bell anymore. But recently, I've been losing my possessions. I thought it was just Yang but I found him and Scratch returning back home from one of their so-called 'trades'." Ying looked deeply into my eyes, causing me to have an uneasy feeling in my spine. "If you ever find a Mightyena with a bag, I want you to steal something called a Twistedspoon from him."

"Twistedspoon?" Burden repeated, tilting his head in confusion. "Why would you want an item that sounds like rubbish?"

Ying telekinetically sighed and shook his head. "I forgot that you never understood the ways of humans and their inventions." Ying shot a glance at me and I gave him a slight shrug. Burden seemed slightly irritated by his choice of words. "Alas, the item Twistedspoon-"

"Raises psychic attacks by ten percent." I covered my muzzle with a scarlet paw. "Uh… Sorry."

Ying raised and eyebrow in amusement. "No worries, it seems like you have great knowledge of the humans, being a former battler and all."

I smirked at this for a second until I realized what he said. Former battler? My eyes pierced through Ying as I stood up, offended. "Now wait just a second Ying." I stated firmly. "I am still a Pokemon battler and even though I'm inexperienced out here in the wild, I can take care of myself!"

Burden seemed quiet. Ying chuckled lightly in my mind. "Then why weren't you able to defend yourself when the Garchomp attacked you? How 'bout when you were in the Pokemon Center and didn't want us to leave? You clearly cannot take care of yourself." Ying said mentally in a slight mocking tone.

I winced as I felt a stab in my dignity. Is he calling me out? I clenched my teeth and tried my best not to lose my cool. (Bad pun) "I took Scratch on all by myself last month. Besides, it was kind of hard getting used to the whole 'fight for yourself under your own rules' phase after being separated from my Trainer." I argued grudgingly. "I'm different now and have done a pretty good job surviving this long."

Ying fell silent. I sat back down swishing my tail, feeling pride in finally getting my point through. Ying turned away from me and strolled over to his bed. He lied down and closed his royal blue eyes. "You are entirely right." The green feline serenely said in my mind. My face turned vacant as he continued. "I should have known better than to judge you. There is no mistake that you are Torcher's daughter." He laughed.

"Torcher?" I took a few steps closer towards him. "Who's that?"

"He didn't tell you his name?" Ying asked whilst opening his eyes. "That's your father's name. He forgets his own manners from time to time but I swear to Arceus that he is a great leader in the organization…" Ying murmured in my head.

"How do you know so much about the organization?" Burden asked from behind me, causing me to twitch from surprise. I looked up at him after his question. So-

"Must I remind you that my father worked there?" Ying responded flatly, interrupting my thoughts.

"Of course…" Burden growled lightly in his throat.

Ying raised a paw limply as he relaxed his muscles. "Thank you for helping me with my situation from earlier, however I would like some peace and quiet so I can meditate. Farewell." With a deep breath, the shiny Espeon closed his eyes and began to slightly purr.

I glanced over to my side and nodded as Burden signaled me for our leave. We padded out of the comfy home and squinted as our eyes were exposed to the bright and glowing sun hanging over our heads. I smiled and fluffed out my fur. The heat felt nice and it made me feel more energized. Since I lived up in the cold mountains with Burden, I couldn't get rays of warmth like I used to.

Burden turned towards me as I soaked up the heat. "So what do you want to do now?" Burden questioned me coolly.

I gazed at him from the corner of my eye and replied with a grin. "Want to go beat up wild Pokemon?"

Burden seemed baffled. "What?"

I faced him in a questioning manner. "You mean you don't train?"

Burden shuffled his paws. "Well, not really but-"

"Well then I guess we'll have to change that starting today!" I interrupted him cheerfully. Burden looked slightly unsettled as I continued. "Come on, I'll show ya!"

Almost instantly I scurried off towards some nearby tall grass. I looked through the blades and heard Burden stealthily make his way beside me. When I saw his expression I could have sworn he was thinking 'She's crazy'.

I was caught off guard as a dark figure rammed into me, knocking the breath out of my lungs. I rolled to a stop and immediately got up to face my attacker. A Lopunny! Burden looked at me and I stared back at him, sending him the message to watch me and stand back. He understood and slinked further back into the tall grass. I turned my attention back on the Lopunny. As usual they look very beautiful but also dangerous. I learned not to judge a book by its cover a long time ago when I fought a Buneary. They are tough even then. I scowled as I saw a Black Belt tied around the Lopunny's waist. I'm guessing that this rabbit Pokemon is part of the illegal trades like Yang and Scratch.

"Where'd you get that item, Lopunny?" I growled as I lowered myself into an attack position.

The Lopunny's voice surprised me, as it sounded like a feminine male. "That's for me to know and for you to die from!" Almost instantly my floppy-eared opponent rushed towards me and hit my side with a Jump Kick. The pain was incredible upon impact and I could've sworn that the Black Belt was working a little too well.

I shook my body and faced my enemy. I realized that the tall grass made it hard to see things from low ground. The heat from my inflamed canines increased as I prepared myself for the move Fire Fang. The Lopunny looked ready for the assault but as I rushed towards him, I slid in-between his legs and crunched into the flesh on his right leg. A howl of pain escaped the rabbit's throat as I pierced deeper into his leg. I quickly let go of his limb and the flames in my mouth died down. The fighting bunny fell forward onto his knees. Without giving a care about mercy, I charged up a Shadow Ball and released it into the Loppuny's face, knocking him unconscious after writhing in pain on the ground.

I returned to my normal stature and trotted up to Burden who was still ducked down in the tall grass. "Ever done something like that before?" I asked the blue-eyed Absol.

Burden stood up and shrugged. "Kind of." He stated. "But I don't start fights, I end them."

I nodded and cheerfully replied. "Well said."

"Let's go back home now. I'm actually getting bored of the forest for once." Burden said in a careless manner as he walked out of the tall grass.

"Okay, let's go then." I replied from behind. I took a few paces and then stopped. Maybe I should take the Black Belt away from that Lopunny? I turned around and found the Lopunny's unconscious body. I rolled him over and tried to untie the belt. It was hard to do with only my teeth but in the end I finally got it off of him. I smiled in victory as I tugged the belt out from under him. When I turned around to walk away, I felt a massive weight plunge into me. I nearly blacked out as I rolled through the tall grass. I shook my head and blinked the blurry vision away as I set my eyes on two new figures. A Granbull pounded its fist into its hand as it glared dangerously at me. Behind the fairy creature was an unfriendly looking Delcatty. Oh great, this is just what I needed.

I pushed myself back onto my paws and took a couple steps forward. "What's the big idea?" I practically growled.

The Delcatty snobbishly strutted in front of the ticked off Granbull and sneered. "Well we can't exactly let some puny Flareon take down one of our agents now can we?"

"You want me to pound her?" The Granbull asked the female feline with much blood thirst in his tone. I mentally shrunk back.

"No need. I think this peasant has some skill." The purple and tan cat continued. She stared deeply into my eyes. I felt frozen by her gaze but I couldn't help but feel outraged by being called a peasant. The Delcatty smiled. "How would you like to join the Anti-Human Pokemon Union?"

I immediately felt power surge through my body after hearing that question. I sat down contently and fluffed my fur out to appear bigger. "I am the daughter of the boss that works at your organization."

The Delcatty looked back at the Granbull, both appearing bewildered. The Delcatty looked back at me with the same expression. "Our boss doesn't have a daughter." She pointed out slowly. "Or any kid at all in fact."

My brain was mashed right then and there. My face clearly showed it too. "Torcher the Houndoom? Isn't he the leader of your organization?"

"Oh!" The two Pokemon exclaimed simultaneously.

I looked at them weirdly. What an odd bunch.

"I see why we were mistaken." the Delcatty grinned. "See, your dad is the leader of the fire-type hideout. That's only part of the organization."

"Bwuahahaha!" The male Granbull guffawed. "We are part of the normal-type hideout of the organization. Did daddy not tell you? Bahaha!"

I was too shocked to reply straightforward but I did shake my head no. That might explain why I saw so many fire-types there. I then remembered something. "But wait a second… If the organization is split up into types, then why is a Garchomp named Slick working for my dad at the fire-type hideout?"

They both laughed again. I averted my eyes away from them for a second to see the Lopunny still unconscious. I also noticed that the Black Belt was tangled around my front paw. I quickly untangled the belt and sat on it. By the time the two normal types were done laughing, I successfully hid the battle item.

The Delcatty licked her paw and cleaned her face as she began to speak. "Slick is a trouble maker. He's been transferred to different parts of the organization so many times that it's like going on vacation for him!" She stopped pampering herself. "He was part of the dragon-type hideout until he 'accidentally' killed his best friend while destroying the Galactic Base in Veilstone. I mean, how can you accidentally kill someone?"

"Amen to that sister!" The Granbull joked.

I shuffled my paw uncomfortably. I hope they leave soon, Burden will be coming back to look for me if I wait here any longer and I don't want him to get mixed up with these guys.

"Anyways," The Delcatty returned to her snobbish demeanor. "We better get going Twinkle toes." She sighed, turning away from me and slowly padding away out of the tall grass.

"Aw c'mon Roxy! Stop making fun of my name!" The fairy dog called out as he hauled the Loppuny onto his back and sprinted after the snotty cat.

I couldn't help but burst out into laughter after hearing the Granbull's name. Twinkle? "Ahahaha~!" After settling down, I remembered the Black Belt I hid under my body. I sat up and picked up the battered belt with my canines. After a couple steps I noticed I was limping. Weird, I can't feel any pain except a tiny ache. I shrugged it off and continued to stagger through the forest. A mile later, my crimson hero appeared at the edge of the forest, calling my name. My eyes glittered from the sound of the dark type's voice. My eyes started to get droopy and blurred as I tried to drag myself towards the horned Pokemon. I was so close until the blackness took over. I felt the belt slip from my mouth and the figure of my love fade. B-Burden…