Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon, but Zora and Hunter are straight from my imagination.

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1 Year Later...

Zora walked out to the barn where the baby Ponyta were. She carried the full pail of Miltank milk to split between the four babies. She stopped to pet and murmur to each one, then moved on to rack down some hay from the loft.

"Nine-Ninetales?" Flamer trotted in with his youngest son, Legend, bouncing happily beside him. "Ninetales,"

"I'm in trouble, huh?"

"Nine,"

"I'll be there in a minute," Zora turned back to what she was doing.

"Nine," he shook his head, then turned to Legend. "Nine-Nine,"

"Vulpix!"

"Nine," the proud father nodded, then led back out.

When Zora returned to the house, she found Hunter at the oven and Ember cuddled in the corner bed with Myth, the youngest and still nursing Vulpix. The stove in the corner had warmed the room against the cool fall morning. The counters that circled the room held typical kitchen things: spices, spoons, forks, bowls, etc. The stairs that led the loft that was their bedroom was still in shadows cast by the still rising sun.

"You get up too early," Hunter said.

"Someone has to do it. Early Pidgey gets the Caterpie, you know."

"So let them, that's the circle,"

"If it makes you feel better, I just couldn't sleep this time,"

"So it wasn't your husband's terrible company?"

She smiled, "No,"

"Bad dream?" he turned and looked at her.

"The same one," she mumbled. He sighed.

"It can't come true you know,"

"I know. It's missing the essential element."

"But that doesn't make it any less painful?"

"Exactly,"

"I understand. I've had bad dreams before too,"

"What's on our agenda today?" she said.

"Milking, some work in the fields,—"

"Bulba!" Zora and Hunter turned at the same time. The Bulbasaur stood at the open door. "Bluba, Bulba, Bulbasaur, Bulba,"

"Ninetales?" Ember said. The Bulbasaur nodded.

"Bulbasaur," Ember was about to translate when there was a shot from the woods. Hunter closed his eyes and sighed heavily, removing the skillet from the burner.

"Breakfast can wait. Come on, Flamer," he said.

"I'll come too," Zora started to follow him, but he turned and put up a hand.

"Follow through with the regular routines. We don't need to turn this into anything too big. It's probably just a few poachers," he said. She saw the firmness in his eyes and automatically knew it was useless to argue with him.

"Have to be an action hog, don't you?"

"Absolutely," he flashed her a comforting smile and headed out the door at a fast trot, Flamer proudly following. Legend was now curled up with his mother, asleep like his little sister.

Zora finished fixing breakfast and set it aside. After feeding Ember and enjoying her friend's company, Zora headed out to the Miltank pens to start the milking. While she worked, her mind was on Hunter and what was going on in the woods. There'd been no more shots, but she could tell by the feel the air carried that something was going on. Those woods were the home to tons of wild pokemon that they had no intention of training. It was just that; a wood... but they had to protect it...

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Hunter kneeled next to a half tired, half infuriated Flamer. This poacher had used four pokemon so far, but there was no telling if he abided by the League rules and carried only six. Hunter guessed he carried more. In the few exchanges, he'd used Flamer, Tornado, his Pidgeot, and Slash, his Syther. He was no where near exhausted, but the poacher wasn't interested in protecting the woods. He wanted the pokemon. And since Hunter was determined to keep the woods in good condition and its inhabitants safe, his job was that much harder. It was just too bad for this poacher that he decided to mess with the pokemon in the former Night Bandit's care.

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Zora was fixing lunch when Hunter and Flamer returned. He looked angry.

"How'd it go?"

"Terrible. Half the woods in four acres are destroyed," he said as he sat down. She sighed.

"Well, you know a flower always blooms from the old,"

"I know... but that doesn't change the fact that it was destroyed by a pokemon poacher! That in itself is enough to—" she kissed him, forcing him to stop.

"Quit beating yourself up over this. The woods and the pokemon will be fine,"

"I know..."

"Now eat something. You skipped breakfast," she sat a plate with ham and cheese sandwiches down and poured two big glasses of milk.

"Vulpix!" Venus walked in with her head high and her tails sticking up. A defeated looking Earth followed. The twins were always fighting; the winner of one fight never had a set pattern of winning.

"Vul-Vul, Vulpix. Vulpix!" Earth protested. Venus turned on him with a flip of her tails.

"Vulpix!"

"Vulpix!"

"Ninetales," Ember said firmly. Myth woke up crying and Ember's attention turned back to the baby.

"Vulpix!"

"Ninetales!" Flamer silenced them both, pushing each into a corner of the room and giving quite, firm commands. He then returned to Ember and settled down next to her. After watching him nuzzle her and the two youngest, Zora and Hunter turned back to their lunch, each smiling.

"Tell me about the poacher," she said, her smile fading as she said the words.

"He was about typical; knew his own strategy, knew his pokemon and what he wanted,"

"Which was?"

"Eevee,"

"That figures," Silence fell as they ate. As they washed and dried the dishes, Flamer stood and walked to the door. He sniffed the air and looked back to Ember.

"Nine?"

"Ninetales," Flamer nodded and walked back to Zora, took part of her shirt in his mouth and pulled her with him to the door. Zora stared at the woods closest to them, the patch on the four acre lot. Pokemon were fleeing in all directions. And the worst part was she smelled the smoke now.

"Hunter, the woods are on fire," she mumbled. He joined her at the door, then turned and ran up the stairs to the bedroom. Zora stared at the woods, seeing the tips of flames beginning to emerge from the trees.

"Ember, be ready to move the little ones out, okay? Flamer, you stay with them," she said. Both Ninetales nodded. Hunter returned, handing her two pokeballs and keeping one. They ran toward the woods together.

"Starmie! Vaporeon! Go!" Zora threw her pokeballs.

"Blastoies!" Hunter threw his. The pokemon, seeing the flames, began dumping water with a nod from each trainer. They managed to subdue the flames in a small area for a short time, but the fire spread.

"This isn't working," Zora said.

"We need to get the pokemon out," he said, taking a pokeball from his belt. He threw it. "Tornado, go!" the Pidgeot appeared in the flash and hovered, waiting for instruction. "Guide as many pokemon out of the woods as you can. The fire's moving fast, so hurry," Hunter said calmly.

"Pidgeot!" he flew off, over the flames and woods. When Hunter turned back around, he didn't see Zora. He called her name, then saw her coming back from the house. He turned back to the Water pokemon, who now stood staring at the fire since trying to drown it wasn't working.

"Go. Try to help," they vanished into the woods. Zora stopped next to him, tying her belt with her other pokeballs around her waist.

"We need to help," she said. Hunter shook his head.

"We can do anything," Zora absorbed the reality as she watched the flames grow and engulf the once lush forest she and Hunter had cherished. The fire had spread to other wood areas they kept and she knew there would be little that was green left when the fire was gone.

The heat was becoming unbearable and Hunter considered falling back a notch, but Starmie, Vaporeon, Blastoies, Tornado and others were still there. If it was too dangerous to go in, the least they could do was be ready to help the pokemon that came out. But things were getting out of control...

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Well, there's chapter 4. Thank you to my reviewers, one I forgot to acknowledge from chap 2 and one for chap 3 as well.