Dan plopped himself down on the couch, he was wearing a casual, white t-shirt and black basketball shorts. The morning sun shined through the window into the living room, it was a perfect day to sit down and relax. The TV wasn't turned on, but the remote laid close by on the coffee table, for when Chris would wake up. On the floor was a backpack, which was packed with a couple pairs of clothes, and a bag of food. Ninetales and Vulpix were laying together on the other side of the couch, fast asleep, with their tails intertwined. It was a cute little gesture, which Daniel would've taken a picture of, but chose not to. Chris, still in his pajamas, stepped out of the bedroom with a big old yawn. "morning Chris," Dan waved.
"Are you getting ready to go on another camping trip? It hasn't even been a month!" Chris asked. "Nope, the backpack's packed up like that for when I go on a camping trip next week," Dan said. "And before you ask, I'm only not at work right now, because I had to cover a night shift last night. So why aren't you ready for work?" Chris sighed. "I don't head to work for another hour," Chris opened the freezer that was built into the fridge, pulled out some weird frozen breakfast and stuck it in the microwave. Chris walked over to the living room and was just about to sit himself down between Dan and his Pokemon.
Dan grabbed the T.V remote off of the coffee table and turned it on. "National parks and camp sites are reopening as the world adjusts to Pokemon coming into existence. They are well aware that these new creatures are quite dangerous, and only gave out a warning about them. In their words 'We acknowledge that Pokemon are quite dangerous and so are bears. If you see an aggressive Pokemon, treat it as if you were fighting a bear; do not engage. We will not be taking responsibility for what may occur if you encounter a Pokemon.' On the topic of running into Pokemon, they have started walking into cities and making their homes in alleyways, trees, just about anywhere that isn't inside a person's home." Chris sat down on the couch a little roughly; both Pokemon were up now.
"In New York City, dog-like Pokemon crawl out of their hiding places and actually accompany New Yorkers as they head into work. Some of these creatures even help out with pushing luggage, helping trash collectors, and even join their new friends inside their home. In London, a Pokemon called Yamper has started roaming the streets along with Rattata. In Tokyo, a Pikachu, the face of the Pokemon Franchise, has been taken in by the President of the Pokemon Company, Tsunekazu Ishihara. In the last couple days, Nintendo made an extra billion to their revenue in Pokemon Tax Dollars. Which are the adoption fees people, who have taken in these creatures as pets, paid while registering their Pokemon.
"Knew they'd try and profit off of this," Chris chuckled. He yelped when Ninetales nipped him. "Hey Ninetales, what the hell was for?" The fox waddled back to where he and Vulpix were sleeping, then placed himself just behind Vulpix. The little fox was rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, while Ninetales glared at Chris for ruining his sleep. "Those two were knocked out when you came down like a lightning bolt," Daniel chuckled as Chris got up to retrieve his breakfast. Dan got up and took his roommate's spot, so that he could greet both Pokemon. A quick couple of pats and a "good morning" was enough for Ninetales.
Vulpix, on the other hand, stood up and tried to pin down his trainer's arm. "And… time for the endless fountain of energy that is Vulpix," Daniel chuckled as he pulled the little fox onto his lap. "The first Pokemon related deaths have been cropping up, first is a charred human corpse that many believe to have been burnt by a Houndoom. Another was a woman, identified who decided to disturb the nest of a Braviary. It was believed the woman was trying to snatch the Pokemon's eggs or offspring, who was then mauled by the angry parent. A Luxray had shocked a woman to death, but it was seemingly an accident. All Pokemon involved with these deaths have been shot and killed," The reporter said. "If you have a weak stomach, we advise that you look away." Pictures of each Pokemon flashed on screen, a Houndoom with its jaws were locked onto a bone. "This Houndoom was caught nearby with a human bone in its jaws, we believe it to be the killer of the burnt, unidentified body that had been found not too long ago.
"The farmer, Ray, that had shot at a 'Shiny Ninetales' a couple of weeks ago, has been having horrible nightmares ever since. The dreams get so bad that the man's body twitches and jerks in its dreams. Gamefreak has stated that Ninetales are capable of casting curses, while also being very vengeful. Our experts believe that the Ninetales placed a curse on Ray Cismen, in revenge for being shot at. There is currently a search for the Ninetales, in hopes that it can be reasoned into lifting the curse," The news channel then flipped to a rerun of a Tom and Jerry episode. Ninetales' paws were sitting on the remote, he had changed the channel with a small grin. "Nine!" He wagged his tails before laying his head back down.
"That poor asshole's got about what? A thousand years of suffering?" Chris asked. He scarfed his food down and went to get changed, the bedroom door closed before Daniel could answer. "I think so, Ninetales might know how long a curse lasts, or he could just have some really shitty nightmares, but either way he's gonna have a fun time sleeping," Dan chuckled. Vulpix bit down on his trainer's hand a little too hard. "Ow," Daniel said nonchalantly. "Vulpix, watch yourself before I unleash these hands on you," he warned. Vulpix didn't seem to heed to the warning immediately, as he was making sure he didn't wound Daniel in any way, and then nipped his trainer's hands once more. "I warned you Vulpix," Daniel said. The boy flipped his Pokemon over and started going to town on the little fox. "I'm heading to work!" Chris called from the door. He cracked the door open before peeking at Vulpix being tickled half to death, having the time of his life, then Daniel got tackled by Ninetales. He chuckled and headed out the door. He closed it quietly as to not interrupt the moment between his roommate and and his Pokemon.
"Look at that guys!" Ash stopped when he heard Dawn call out something. A Shiny Ninetales was sitting in the pathway with its back to the travelers. Its long, glorious tails arched up covering most of the Pokemon's back. A tuft of fur extended up a couple of inches, which looked like a light blue ember with the color of its fur, the tip rested on the Pokemon's neck. Its head jerked a couple of times, Almost as if its head was hurting a bunch. "Hey Ninetales!" Ash walked forward and tried to touch one of the Pokemon's tails. "Ash!" Brock grabbed his friend and pulled him back. "Are you an idiot? Everyone knows you're not supposed to touch the tails of a Ninetales," Dawn put her hands on her hips. "Who knows? Maybe this one wouldn't curse me for a mistake," Ash said.
Pikachu hopped off of his trainer's shoulders and approached Ninetales again. This time the whole Pokemon shuffled aside, why it had, the mouse couldn't guess. "Hello," the Ninetales said. "Your trainer was about to do something quite… unwise," the fox greeted. "Yeah, Ash does that a lot, he's not the sharpest tool in the shed," Pikachu said. "So why's your head jerking back every couple of seconds?" The rodent asked. "Well," Ninetales stood up, revealing a little Vulpix, it didn't look much older than a year, maybe a year and a half. "Vulpix, say hello to our guests," the fox requested. "Hello!" Vulpix lifted her paw, as if to wave it like a hand. "That's a cute little Vulpix!" Dawn walked forward to tried and pet it.
Ninetales got in between its child and Dawn, with a couple of barks, Dawn backed off. "Please do not attempt to pet my kit, I know you're being friendly, but I had a rough run in with a human recently… and I'm not willing to let one near Vulpix," Ninetales said. "She just spoke!" Dawn took a step back, Ash and Brock sighed. "After dealing with Shayman and Arceus, you'd think you'd be used to this by now," Ash said. "And by now, most competent trainers would know not to touch a wild Pokemon's tails," Ninetales chuckled. "Well, if there is something you want, state it. I was having a nice time playing with my kit and I'd like to get back to that," Ninetales ordered. Dawn reached out towards the fox, placing her hand on top of the Pokemon's head, and started petting it.
"Your fur's really nice," Dawn said. "Thank you," Ninetales said before backing away from the trainer. "So, is that all?" Ninetales asked. "Well… yeah," Pikachu waved his paw before pushing Ash to walk in the opposite direction. It took a second for the fox's words to kick into his trainer. "Hey! What do you mean by most competent trainers?" Ash stomped on the ground, glaring at the Ninetales. "Nothing of it, I am sure you are a capable commander in battle, but please do see to your Pokedex before trying to grab a Ninetales' attention… unless you'd like to end up as a Pikachu," Ninetales said. The fox grabbed its kit and dashed off, deeper into the forest. "Hey there it is!"
Ash and Dawn almost got trampled by a group holding what looked like Pokemon Hunter gear. "Hey, watch it!" Ash said. "Guys, we should go after that Ninetales," Brock said. He pointed at one of the men's weapons as the squad ran in the direction Ninetales was heading. "Why would somebody be hunting a Ninetales?" Ash's shoulders slumped, before running after the men. "Hey!" He yelled.
Ninetales growled in annoyance as she ran into yet another dead end, a large tree had fallen, with no way around it. "This forest is a pain," she sighed as she settled her Vulpix down. "Vulpix, whatever you do, do not come out from behind me for any reason. If you see me fall to the ground, run, run and do not look back," Vulpix stared and its mother for a long time. "There you are!" Ninetales looked up to see a man, holding a rifle, who was pointing it at the Pokemon's head. "Hold your fire," another human walked past the first one, with his hands behind his back. "We're here to speak with it, not riddle it with bullets," he said. "Yes sir!" The officer saluted and lowered his weapon, finger off the trigger.
"State your business," Ninetales said. She kept her tails low, doing her best to hide the kit behind her. "So you can speak," The man walked forward, with slow, confident strides, and stopped before the fox. "I assume you recall the man who shot at you for trying to get into his chicken coop." The Ninetales nodded. "Recently he has been having nightmares, ones that seem to be physically affecting his body while he sleeps, and can't wake up until sunrise despite the horrible nightmares he describes. We are simply here to ask if you had anything to do with this oddity," the commissioner said. "All I did was run away after being shot at, I knew what I was doing wasn't right, but I was desperately trying to get food. So unless that man has angered another Ninetales, or a ghost Pokemon, I do not know why he is having such nightmares…" Ninetales tilted its head in thought.
"Perhaps a Darkrai is responsible? It is a widespread rumor that such a Pokemon can give nightmares, nightmares far worse than any curse a Ninetales can perform," the fox said. The commissioner nodded, writing down in a little notebook. "Do you mind if we place a tracking collar on you? We might be able to use more information from you in the future, and hunting you down is a pain," he asked. "Do what you must, just do not attempt to harm me," Ninetales said. The fox held still while the human was handed a collar and started to approach her. "This'll only take a second or two to do," he said. With a click, the collar was secure around the fox's neck. "Now you running from us doesn't seem as warranted," the commissioner chuckled as he patted Ninetales on the head.
"You have guns, I believe it was fully warranted," the vixen said. "It's only a dart gun. Just in case you decided to get a bit feisty. God damn, your fur's really soft. Like... a freshly groomed dog," the commissioner said. "Thank you," Ninetales sighed as one of the trainers from earlier came barreling in. He barked his head off while trying to take the dart gun out of one of the hunters' hands. "Quit it kid, we aren't trying to kill this thing. If we were, then it'd already be dead," the commissioner stood up and sighed. Ninetales restrained the kid with its telekinesis before sighing. "Child, these folks only wished to ask for some information from me. Don't get yourself killed while trying to play hero." Ninetales only unrestrained the boy once he stopped struggling.
"Ninetales, you were breaking into that farmer's coop because you needed food correct?" The commissioner saw an opportunity. "Of course, a girl's gotta eat," the fox said. She then growled when Vulpix poked its head out from under her fore leg. "What did I tell you about coming with me? Surely getting food will be easier if you do." The commissioner knelt down and smiled. "Hey little fella," he greeted. Without hesitation, the fox ran forward and was met with a surprisingly friendly greeting. "She's a cute little fox," he said. The man patted the Vulpix a couple of times, he took note of how its fur was just as soft as Ninetales' fur. He looked at his men. "You guys can start heading back to the van, I'll be right with you," he said. "Hey! You guys were going to kill that Ninetales!" Ash kept trying to go in to fist fight one of the officiers, but couldn't; Pikachu was holding his trainer back.
"Yes sir!" The men also took their leader's dart gun, they all turned around and headed towards presumably where they came. The commissioner turned his attention back to Ninetales. "If you were seeking out… rather poor means of getting food, then you should come with me. I can feed you and your kit extremely well, and all you'd have to do is lounge about," he said. "If I went with you, then why put a tracking device on me?" Ninetales asked. "I… honestly don't know, this idea just came to mind. Plus, I figured you and your Vulpix could be ambassadors, to show you Pokemon aren't dumb beasts with super powers," the man offered his hand.
"You will treat me and my kit well?" Ninetales' question was met with a simple nod. "Of course, you both will basically be my pets, and you'll be out of harm's way," the man said. "I will consider this option, and I will tell you my choice at a later time. You'll know where I am if you want to learn of it," Ninetales said. The commissioner flashed a thumbs up, before picking Vulpix up and gently handing her back to Ninetales. "Stay outta trouble!" He said before heading towards where his men were headed. "Ash, you almost got yourself killed twice in a day," Dawn said while panting. "He did it all in bane as well, those humans weren't too bad," Ninetales chuckled before taking ahold of her kit and started walking away from the trainers. "Now I am going to talk to you young lady," Ninetales stopped and looked back and Pikachu.
"Pikachu, keep a check on your trainer, he's got a heart of gold from the looks of it. His brain is made of lead, however," Ninetales chuckled before she and her kit vanished from sight.