"Nova, are you all right?" Vie crawls in front of me. "Nova?"

"…I'm fine. Leave me alone," I reply and turn away, preferring to trudge this path alone.

I remember my mother. Cuddling with me with her warm belly, explaining why I didn't have a father, frantically trying to find help when I broke my leg, talking about Silex and half-bloods…

I don't know what happened after Phendrene started crying. The next thing I knew was Bane calling me in the middle of the night and frantically asking me questions. I didn't want to speak to him. A small Trapinch did more than him when it came to defending my mother. But I did anyway.

I recognized Skein, that friend of Mum's whom I had spent a night with days before departing from Lyrl. He seemed terribly distraught and kept on questioning me as well. I really wanted to ignore him, too. I didn't want anything to do with these adults who did nothing to save my mother.

Vie woke up fairly soon after, but I didn't feel like talking to her for the same reasons, even though she kept on bothering me.

The only one I could bear was Phendrene.

A day or two passes as a bunch of Flygon come and go, taking away the bodies and providing us with food. I respond with the simplest answers I can whenever I am questioned, preferring to sulk in the sand.

And then, Silex of all people comes and tells us that she'll be taking care of us. Somehow, I felt she was the best person I could have asked for given the situation. She was a mother to my mother, after all. Of course she would take care of us. She's a good person.

Now we're back to the trek to the forest to search for Hale. I remember how I was all fussy and upset when this trip just started. How I was jealous of Phendrene for taking so much of Mum's attention. I was so stupid.

Everyone else keeps asking me questions (because they aren't going to get answers from Phendrene). Silex was the only one that left me alone, and I'm grateful for that. And seeing her again reminds me of my carefree life in the Shallows… as if I could experience a whisper of it.

Phendrene gradually starts talking to me as time passes. She used to only talk to Mum, who is now gone, so she redirects her attention to me. Secretly, her presence relieves me of having to stay silent.

She tells me about what her life was like before. She used to live with her Charizard father, but her parents had a huge fight and Phendrene's mother brought her away. They lived quite a peaceful life alone barely interacting with anyone else, until the time where a Salamence attacked her Flygon mother for daring to produce a half-blood. She had to go out into the wild own her own, and was lucky enough to find us.

I also tell her about myself and everything in the Shallows. The lake, the outcrops, the caves, and how relaxed we all were compared to the cooped up environment of Lyrl. I find myself repeating things a lot, but Phendrene never calls me out on it. We have a silent agreement to take our minds away from all the pain from the days gone past.

Grass starts to appear sparsely. There is more of solid dirt rather than sand. The first tree appears after a few weeks, and then they start to become much more common. It's called Whitewind Forest, says Silex, because of the white catkins that drift in the breeze. The greenness is very unsettling at first, but I get used to it eventually. Another day is all it takes for the leaves to get thick enough to block out most of the sky, the undergrowth also growing dense enough that I have to crash through it sometimes. Along with that comes ambient forest noises, like insect or bird calls or leaves rustling in the wind. Phendrene is extremely tense as she walks around with her tail in her arm, afraid for it to brush against any type of flammable plant. Though I first thought it would be just plain trees, the terrain is actually much more diverse than the desert. There starts to become uneven hills, small ravines, and quite a few streams.

I begin to open back up with the new environment, becoming willing to chat to Vie about what exactly happened with my mother, though I keep my blame of her private. Bane seems quite restless and flies out for an attempt to find Hale every time us children stop to rest. He seems quite nice every time he speaks to me, though I still feel a grudge towards him for not helping my mother.

Ugh. I try to rid my head of these thoughts, but it's impossible. Though I am finally able to discuss my mother without getting emotional, I still play out scenarios in my head. What if Vie didn't attack? What if Bane was here with Mum? What if Hale didn't get in a fight and we never left Lyrl? …What if my father never left and was actually here?

I find that I am beginning to idolize him less and hate him more. Who cares if he defeated the Hydreigon? He left his mate to die alone. I'll give him a piece of my mind if I ever find him.

"What are you so angry about?" Phendrene asks, clearly having read something from my expression.

"Just my father," I answer curtly. "What about you? Do you remember yours?"

"A little. And I miss him. He taught me a lot about different things. Sometimes I wish he were here for Mum when she was attacked." She gazes up into the sky.

"Me too," I admit. Despite partially blaming him for what happened, I'd still want to meet him if he is alive. "But I have no idea where I'd find him."

"I have a vague idea, but…" Phendrene sighs and rolls over with her back towards me. "Maybe it's better to never see him again."

"Why?" I ask, surprised.

"I wouldn't want to tell him that Mum died, and… Let's just go to sleep," she says and lies against the tree.

I have learned to be compliant when she doesn't want to talk, because it was just like how I felt back then. "Okay. Good night." I close my eyes and bask in the familiar warmth. It has been quite a while since it happened. Even Phendrene is beginning to open up about it. I still miss my mother, but I feel like there's nothing I can do about it now. The only thing I can do is to have the foresight to protect everyone else the best I can.

The first moment of consciousness the next morning makes me awake very quickly as I sense a drastic change in my surroundings. Looking around, I realize I've somehow been moved to a roughly constructed shelter made out of a lot of twigs, which has one of its walls against the trunk of what should be a large tree. There's ample light shining through the interwoven branches, so it seems like early morning. Most importantly, there's absolutely no one else around, even if they probably could all fit in here together. I tend to sleep quite a bit more than all the others so everyone's relatively active by the time I wake up. I try and think of a reason as to why they would leave me alone here, but it doesn't make sense at all. Best to move around and investigate.

I walk over to the exit and catch a vaguely familiar scent. They're still somewhere around here, definitely. I peer out of this shelter and find the terrain similar to the one we've been travelling in, though it is an unrecognizable location. A sudden movement above me takes my attention, where a green snakelike creature with little arms hangs down from a tree, but the instant our eyes meet it swings back up and disappears into the canopy.

I walk around the shelter but there's nothing special about it, other than the clearly artificially arranged branches the shelter is made out of. But as I walk on the opposite side of the tree the shelter is anchored on, I hear some voices in the distance. Following the direction verify my suspicions as the voices grow louder and louder, until I realize there's only a dense bush separating me and what sounds like a heated argument.

"Hello?"

I crash through the bush, and find them standing before me. Phendrene is hiding herself behind Silex with her tail held in her arms, Vie and Bane by their side. There are also strangers, specifically a Vibrava next to Vie, standing across what I recognize as a Fraxure, a Grovyle, and some kind of frowning blue creature with a funny green cap.

But the Vibrava takes my attention the most, because his light colouration looks extremely familiar. "Hale?"

"That's me!" the Vibrava shouts cheerfully with Hale's voice. "Didn't think I'd evolve, did ya?"

"Oh… okay." I'm reluctant to speak further, remembering our less than peaceful goodbye we had underneath Lyrl.

"Anyway, you have to get the Charmander out of this forest," I hear the Fraxure continue in a female but firm voice, clearly disregarding my presence. "We're not risking another fire. They can spread very easily, and possibly to the entire forest. I've been repeating myself several times already."

What? "A forest fire? What happened?"

The Fraxure snorts, and waves her hand as an act of dismissal. "You know nothing, newcomer. Be quiet." She turns back to the others. "Harley here is does not like putting up with frequent forest fires. Uses up his water too quickly."

"Look," Bane says, shaking his head, seemingly a bit tired of the discussion. "Can you get some adults here first? Or whoever's in charge of-"

"What?" The Fraxure interrupts indignantly, and steps forward. "Just because we're not evolved doesn't mean we're useless runts that cause problems!"

The Fraxure has quite an odd character. She seems charismatic, but at the same time rather abrasive. The two qualities make her quite aggressive and hard to talk back to.

"For your information, this is only the edge of Sceptile territory," the Grovyle adds in, bringing my attention to her. Her tone is a lot more calm, and her posture is completely still, vividly contrasting with the Fraxure. "They would have intervened if you travelled further inwards. But regardless of them, you have to understand that we simply cannot risk a forest fire anywhere. You're lucky Harley was right next to the tree you lit on fire yesterday."

The blue creature, obviously Harley, nods his head. "There aren't many of us around here," he says in a hoarse voice, with a strange intonation that I can't pin down. "Please don't risk an entire forest's safety. There are plenty of places in the world for Pokémon with fire to be. Here is not one of them."

Feeling the need to defend Phendrene, I try to speak up, especially since no one else is. "We've been in the forest for quite a few days already. As long as we're cautious, no forest fire will happen again."

The Fraxure's response is rather sharp. "Because you certainly can be cautious in your sleep," the Fraxure answers in a heavily sardonic tone. "Why don't you bring her to Novaria? Or wherever she came from."

I feel a bit intimidated, but manage to keep my composure and continue. "She came from the Flygon's place, and no she can't go back. They didn't let her stay because she was too different. I was hoping you residents of the forest would be a bit more open-minded."

I see the Grovyle's gaze turn to Phendrene, clearly having a change of heart, but the Fraxure remains unconvinced. "It's not about open-mindedness. It's about keeping the forest intact. Why don't you lead her to the Novaria? I'm sure she won't get banned from there."

"Where is Novaria?" I ask her, starting to become a bit frustrated by her unrelenting responses.

"Wow, you don't even know where the Charizard live, and you're trying to argue for a Charmander?" She walks closer and leans over, making her a shadow that looms over me. "You're in no position to make any decisions, not when you're clearly biased."

"Look, Rue," Hale says, twitching his newly grown antennae, thankfully making the Fraxure apparently named Rue stand back up and redirect her attention away. "We just need to find somewhere to live, and the Flygon back in Lyrl won't let her stay. I wouldn't want to live there anyway. And we've never heard much of Novaria, let alone been to it. You're really going to just send us back out to roam in the desert where we're constantly in danger of random Salamence? One of the Flygon that came here to find me died out there, you know. "

"Rue, he's right," the Grovyle interrupts Rue, who was just about to speak. "The Charmander can't be eight years old. We can't just kick her out. It's not even really our territory."

"Don't be dumb. Just because she's a kid doesn't mean she can stay anywhere she wants. You would risk a forest for a Charmander?"

Why is she so stubborn? "Phendrene's not the type to cause any problems. She-"

"I don't care about her personality! Her fire's the problem, you hear me? How do you not understand this?" She seems fuming as she interrupts me. "I can find another Charmander and you wouldn't give a damn. You're not using reason at all. You're just defending her because you know her. Someone so short-sighted like you is in no place to decide what happens."

"Rue… Don't shout," the Grovyle taps in.

The Fraxure's scowls and turns her head towards the Grovyle. "Fine. It's not like I'm the one that needs the forest." She turns around and storms out of the clearing.

"Sorry about that," the Grovyle says, bringing my gaze back from where Rue left. "She is quite outspoken."

"It's fine. What's your name?" I ask.

"Call me Lin. What about yours?" she asks in a friendly tone.

"His name is Nova," Vie answers for me. "Sorry, can you leave us alone for a bit? We need to discuss some stuff."

I'm a bit annoyed at Vie's interruption, but Lin doesn't seem so. "Sure. I understand. I need to calm Rue down, anyway." And with that, she also dashes into the undergrowth where Rue did. Harley, the strange non-dragon creature, has also disappeared.

"Now since that's over," Bane says in a grumpier tone, "Hale, why did you even think about going away from Lyrl? And are you really planning on staying here?"

"Of course I'm serious!" Hale says back in an equally irritated tone. "Lyrl sucks. There is absolutely no way I am ever going back there."

"Right," Vie adds in, walking next to Hale. "I forgot to say this. I'm not going back, either."

"What the- Vie! Just because our parents are dead doesn't mean you can do what you want. Why are you so upset at Lyrl, anyway?"

Hale answers for her. "Everything. The people there are mean, it's stuffy, and we can't even move freely."

"And they kicked Phendrene out simply because she wasn't a Trapinch. That's just mean. Even moreso than that Fraxure," Vie adds in.

Phendrene has crawled over next to me at the mention of her name, perhaps a bit scared by this ordeal. No one notices, and the angry words between the siblings continue. "It doesn't matter if you don't like it! It's far safer with them. Haven't you forgot what happened in the Shallows?"

Hale shakes his head confidently. "It's definitely safer in the forest. The Salamence won't even be able to see us, let alone come here. And I've met the Sceptile already; they're very nice. No need to worry about them."

Bane just stares down at Hale and Vie in silence. "You won't even cherish the only family you have left…?" he says softly.

"Sorry, Bane," Vie crawls forward. "I can't just leave Nova alone. I mean, you can stay here with us."

"No." Bane takes a step back. "Cole is still back there. I can't believe you two would just abandon us, after all we've been through." He suddenly turns around and speeds off into the air, leaving a gust of wind.

"I'll go get him," Silex decides, and follows. She's surprisingly quiet during other people's conversations.

Bane's departure leaves Vie especially dumbfounded. Hale walks up to her and says, "It's okay. Let him cool off. If he wants to go back to Lyrl then so be it. We can visit him easily after we evolve."

"…I suppose," Vie replies. "I didn't think he would get so mad."

"You should have told him earlier. But it doesn't matter." Hale turns to me. "Nova, are you all right? About, you know, your mo-"

"I'm fine! The same thing happened to you, didn't it?" Everyone asked me that a million times already. Every time I'm not thinking about it, they just have to remind me again.

Hale seems to get the hint and changes the topic quickly. "Anyways, I've lived here for a while now, and Rue's not as bad as she seems. Once you get to know her, at least. You know the shelter where you woke up? That was originally her own sleeping place, and she let me in when I first got here. And she let you here, too, when you slept through the small fire." He suddenly walks over and says in a quieter voice, "Also, uh, sorry about what happened under Lyrl."

"Oh, it's all right," I answer hastily. "Let's not mention it. So how was evolving?"

Hale brightens considerably. "Oh! Evolving actually feels really nice. You have a lot more energy. And flying's great! Even if I can't fly very well yet. Plus, you can see and hear a lot better."

"It's not fair!" Vie suddenly says. "We're twins, but you get to evolve first?"

"You just have to battle more!" Hale replies. "That's what Rue told me, at least. I just evolved in the desert and flew over."

"I guess I'll go find her, then?" Vie asks jokingly.

"Yeah, you should! You'd evolve in no time."

"Oh, really. I'll go find her now, then." With that, Vie crawls away in the direction that Rue and Lin just left.

Hale glances at her as she leaves. "So, um, Phendrene. You're a half-blood, right?"

Phendrene, who has been listening silently and patiently all this time suddenly jumps and dashes behind me.

"What? Is that what you sent Vie away for?" I ask, also surprised at his sudden mention.

"Heh, partially. And you don't need to act like that. I'm fine with you," Hale tries to placate the scared Charmander behind me.

"Nova… how does he know?"

"Phendrene, chill out. I just want you to know that I know, and I don't care. Who cares if you love someone of a different species? You two will probably make half-bloods anyway, heheh."

"Hale, can you not?" I ask him, getting annoyed.

"Well I'm gonna tell my sister that you've found someone else!" He stifles a laugh and flies off in the same direction.

"Just ignore him," I tell Phendrene. "You feeling better?"

She nods. "But I thought people shouldn't know that my mother's a Flygon?"

"We shouldn't tell everyone, but Hale doesn't mind. Just don't mention it to anyone else."

"Mention what?" A voice pops up from behind me and I see Fraxure wading through a bush.

Phendrene's warmth leaves my side. When I turn my head around to look at her, I realize she has retreated towards a behind nearby tree.

Rue's face turns into a grin. "Silly Charmander, it's not like I'm trying to attack you or anything." She turns her head towards me. "And I'm looking for you, anyway. What's your name?"

"Trapinch," I respond automatically, wary of what she might want me for.

"Oh, come on, just because I was trying to defend the forest doesn't mean I'm your enemy or anything. I've thought about it and I really just spent too much effort defending what isn't even mine. That Charmander can burn it down for all I care. So what's your name?"

She talks very differently from before, in a much nicer tone. So I answer, "Nova."

She sits down against a tree, as if she expects this conversation to last quite a while. She's still taller than me even when sitting down. "And?"

I crawl closer to her. "What do you mean, 'And'?"

"Your surname?"

She said it like it's something obvious. "What's a surname?"

"You seriously don't know? I might've overestimated your intelligence." I tense a bit, but as she chuckles with her claw over her mouth I realize she's just joking. "Nah, I think you just never learnt it. A surname is this second name people have that is inherited from the parents that is passed down along the bloodline. Like, my full name is Lunarue Faraday. Lin's is Lin Zenfield. So you don't have one?"

"Nope." Talking to her is actually more interesting than I thought. "And I don't shorten first names, either."

"That's because you can't shorten it anymore. Mine's shortened because my father just called me that. You don't have a surname, right?"

"I've never used one, at least."

"Hmm. Then you should probably use your parents' name for convenience. Your father's to be precise, since most people inherit the surname from their father." She grabs a piece of bark of the tree and grinds it against her tusk. "So, what's your father's name?"

The father who wasn't here to save my mother. …I should really stop thinking about that. "Blight."

"That means your full name can be Nova Blightson."

"Sounds weird."

"Well, you don't have to actually use it. Just a bit of trivia."

She seems amiable enough, so I don't hide any curious questions I have. "Why did you want to talk to me? Is it really just chatting like this? Or is it about the Charmander again?"

"I know she's called Phendrene, and I told you I'm over it already." She throws the piece of bark away into a bush. "And as for why it's you, I don't know. I find you interesting. Be flattered."

"Um, thanks?" She's strangely direct about it. Or is she joking again?

"You're welcome. So we can just chat, unless you want to battle. I'll probably trash you, though." She laughs again.

If I were Vie, I might've gotten upset, but it's true that she is a lot bigger than me. Plus, I suck at battling. So I try to get to know her a bit better. "How old are you?"

"I don't know, actually. Somewhere around seventeen years? Do you really bother to keep track of the date?"

"There are things that keep track of it in Lyrl. You're so much older, though! Are you going to evolve soon?"

"I don't know. Dad said he evolved into a Haxorus when he was twenty-something…"

We talk about a lot of things. It's a little like with Zeta, but she speaks faster and louder, often speaking over me. Turns out her father was a traveller that knew a lot of stuff. And he passed it all down to her, before he went on to travel again, leaving her in this forest. She doesn't sound that sad about it, though, unlike me.

She also gives me a tour of the area. Her shelter is a bit east of the clearing. There's a small river that runs east of that. The Sceptile live even further to the east, which is where Lin stays with her family. Rue always stays outside the general vicinity of the Sceptile, because she doesn't fit in that well, and tells me to do the same.

We follow the river upstream. She brings me to a clearing, a larger one this time, with a space in the dense foliage so that I can see the sky. The river comes from a higher ledge, flowing through the middle of the clearing. It seems vaguely familiar.

"I like to stay here most of the time. Sunlight is nice. There's water to drink. And it's pretty scenery, too!"

I don't answer her, and look around. This view… it looks all too eerily familiar. I don't know why, but I'm feeling scared. "Yeah," I answer softly. "It's pretty. But I won't be able to see it again."

"What?" She turns to me. "What do you mean? We can come around any time we want."

I crawl forward to the edge of the river. I remember. I was lying here, watching the blood-stained grass flutter in the wind. And the ground… it was so cold. I wish there was someone, anyone beside me.

"Nova, are you all right?" Rue dashes in front of me and waves her hand in my face. "You seem to recognize this place."

"Rue?" I glance up to her and stare at her face, desperately trying to pull myself back to the present world. "We're all going to die, aren't we?"

"What in the world are you talking about? Do you hate water that much?" she asks, completely confused.

I shake my head. "It's nothing," I answer before staring into the water. Seeing a reflection of a familiar round headed Trapinch, I find myself much calmer. It was just a nightmare. I haven't had it in a while. Forget about it.

"Done with your deep reflection, O Great Shining Star?" Rue's sudden interruption brings me out of my thoughts completely. "Of course we're all gonna die, but I don't get why you mentioned it now."

"What was that great shining star thing?" I ask and frown.

"It's what the word 'Nova' means, silly."

"Oh really? You're not very funny, Shrub." That didn't sound as catchy, even if "Rue" does mean a type of shrub. But she laughs really hard at it. It's nice watching people happy. I haven't seen anyone like this in a long time.

I've never seen a member of the Haxorus family before, either. I wouldn't know which part of her is natural for Fraxure and which parts aren't. Are they supposed to have red tips on their tusks and tail? Or protruding green parts on the top of their head and chest? And two red patches in their lower abdomen? As she wipes her mouth with a last laugh, I spot a mark on her face. No, it's not a mark. It's a scar.

"Finally done with your crazy laughter, Scarface?" I try to quip back.

She stops laughing immediately and stiffens up. Her claw goes up to touch the place where the scar is placed.

"Sorry."

"…Nah, it's not a big deal. I just forgot I had a scar here. I got it when battling with my father years ago." She shakes her head. "Said he wanted to see more of the world, and just left. What about you? Where are your parents?"

"I never knew my father, and my mother… she got killed by a Salamence weeks ago. None of the others do, either. We're all pretty much orphans.

Rue sits down next to me. "This is why I don't want to evolve. After I evolve I'll have more hormones and all that crap… and I'll probably want to find a mate and have children. My parents… they've abandoned me. I definitely don't want to be a parent. I can't see how it would do any good."

I try to cheer her up. "Yours are alive. You can try and find them."

"That's my goal in life, now. To train and become stronger, to prepare myself for the harsh world outside this sanctuary. That way, I'm more prepared to find them. You?"

"I… I don't know. I guess it's the same as you. I can't wait to evolve."

"Hey, weren't you saying something about how we're all gonna die?" she says jokingly. "Wouldn't you want to find immortality?"

"No, I was just being… emotional."

"But hey, really! I like living. I sure wouldn't mind finding immortality somewhere down the line." She grins. "I know it sounds kind of crazy, but I want to live forever. It's kind of sad if you think about how everything you know just disappears when you die. And if the legendary Pokémon can do it, why can't I?"

It is a bit crazy. More than a bit, actually. "How would you even achieve it?"

"I don't know that yet. But there's got to be some way, right?"

"I suppose."

She stays silent for a bit, seemingly expecting me to talk more, but I don't. "Enough rest, Shiny. Let's get up and move around."

"But where? I-"

She suddenly bends over and I feel her grabbing my leg, and she picks me off the ground. I screw my eyes shut reflexively but she holds onto me, so I open them and realize she's dangling me off and I'm looking at her upside down face. It's only then the panic settles in.

"Aaah! Let me go let me go let me go…"

"Have a mild case of acrophobia, hmm?"

"Let me go let me go LET ME GO!"

"Oh fine."

She drops me on the floor (which doesn't hurt, thanks to my shell), and immediately I dig a small hole and secure my hindlegs in it. "Don't do that again."

"It was fun, though!" she exclaims. "You're going to learn fly once you evolve, anyway. I won't get to. It's unfair!" she whines.

"But I heard Haxorus attacks are among the strongest of dragons!"

She crosses her arms. "Bah! Fighting is important, but knowledge even moreso."

"So what do you know?"

"A lot of things. History and geography and all that stuff. Like, the Hydreigon; Dad said they were still here when I was born, but I don't remember them. Also stuff like the disappearance of humans and Altaria, or the Dragonite's retreat… and when I'm a bit sick of dragons, things like the biology and whereabouts of psychics and ghosts, or the Water Pact with the Ludicolo. Or maybe just sightings of Unovan Pokémon."

I'm not even sure if Zeta knows this much. And she's reciting from memory. "That's really impressive. Can you teach me?"

So she begins a long ramble about different things. Apparently out of Evitern there's plenty of other places, where humans take Pokémon under ownership by transferring them into energy form inside what is known as a Poké Ball. Sounds really ridiculous, but then again, these are from the humans. We don't exactly know how they make these things, all we know is that they just can.

She also tells me about stuff that's more relevant to us. For instance, the Sceptile made an agreement with the Ludicolo; in return for not being hunted for prey, they'll exterminate any forest fires that may propagate from fire Pokémon's activities. That's what Harley the Lombre was doing.

How do Pokémon evolve? I heard it's just a huge burst of hormones. Rue insists that more is involved, that it's similar to the way that psychics and ghosts manage their paranormal activity, but innate to all Pokémon.

Then she talks about where they are. She assures me that they're not extinct, just hiding, probably because they're afraid of Hydreigon.

"Why is nothing ever reliable?" I ask finally after hearing the word 'probably' too many times.

"Because we don't know if something really happened, since everything we know about the past is from accounts of others. Unless you travel back in time. Which you can't, so…"

But she's sure of one thing, she says. The Salamence are responsible for the lack of Altaria. Apparently they cohabited the Zeal mountains. Then the Salamence wanted more territory.

But Evitern is big. There's Whitewind Forest which we are in right now. West of this is Aeride desert, while east of this is another less dense and more humid forest that doesn't really have a definitive name, since the Dragonite residing there have different languages and everything gets muddled up. The conventional name is just "the Eastern Forest", apparently. South of these forests are some grassy plains, east of the Zeal mountains (which means the mountains are south of the desert). And at the south-most end, before the sea starts, are the Novaria caverns underground where the Charizard are from.

"Novaria? Did my parents name me after that or something?" For a brief moment, I imagine a male Charizard with my mother.

"Probably not, seeing as you're a Trapinch. But those caverns was actually named after someone. You see, it was originally called Varia. And in the recent centuries, there was this Charizard hero that saved them from the Garchomp. And her name was Nova. So you are just the namesake-"

"Her?"

"Yeah." The way she looks at me changes slightly. "…Who says females can't be heroes?"

"No! What I mean is… she has the same name as me, and-"

"Oh." Her face is contorted into something between confusion and amusement. "You're a freaking guy?"

"Uh… I usually say 'male', but yes, I am a guy. How didn't you-"

"How am I supposed to tell? You're small, not very aggressive, speaks lightly, I had no reason to think you were male. Seriously."

"Ah, who cares? How would you normally tell among others of your species?"

She crosses her arms impatiently. "As I've just said, males tend to be larger, more aggressive, and more territorial than females. It's a generalization of course, but that's how they're genetics work. …And also, I don't have any others of my species. I'm the only one." She closes her eyes.

"Oh… that must be quite unfortunate," I try to comfort her.

"I've long since gotten used to it." She opens here eyes and stares off into the distance. "We Unovan Pokémon aren't native to this place. So there aren't really any of us. Probably means my mother isn't… but I've never met her. She left before I hatched, so kind of like your father. But anyway, if you do spot any other Haxorus, please do come and tell me."

I can't imagine what it would be like if I were the only Trapinch that existed here. It must feel like that there is no one who understands you and your abilities, and that you have some responsibility to carry on the bloodline. I'd hate to feel like that.

She sighs. "Forget about that. I'm hungry. Let me show you the prey around here. Not sure how it'll translate to Trapinch's hunting techniques, but it worked all right for Hale."

She stifles a groan as she stretches and stands up. "Okay. So Hale told me that in the desert, you-"

"No."

My interruption seems to confuse her. "Huh? Don't you want help on hunting, too?"

"I don't hunt. And I'm not hungry either," I state flatly.

Rue's voice suddenly sounds very irritated. "What is wrong with you?" She bends her back and looms over me. My heart skips a beat. "Seriously, you're still eating meat, and that means Pokémon still die for it. If you really care about prey that much why don't you just die."

"But… I… I don't want to die." It sounds obvious and stupid. But it's true and she was being so nice before this…

"Then stop bitching about how you don't like killing other Pokémon and how it's wrong and all that crap. I'm sick of it."

No… why is she like this? "B-but I didn't say that," I defend myself while backing up into the clearing.

"Oh, then what did you imply by that? You're not hunting because… you have some physical disability?" She walks over to me again. "Hm?"

I would say yes if I wanted to get away from her. …But then I would be lying. And she wouldn't believe it. "I'm weak, but-"

"See? I was right, you entitled little-"

The ground behind me suddenly disappears and there's another moment of weightlessness and then wetness.

And then there's just cold.

"HELP!" I yell, but it just comes out as a bunch of gurgling. It's water! I need to get out! But it feels as if I'm being dragged away.

Strong arms surround me and lift me out of the water. It's not as warm as Phendrene, but the ambient heat and simply something solid that I can feel is enough to calm me down somewhat. And between my large gasps for air, I hear Rue say something.

"I'm sorry."

Rue starts walking somewhere. "I was getting a bit too emotional about that. Lin's like you. She doesn't hunt because she sympathizes with the prey too much. …That means I hunt for her a lot of the time, because she's somewhat ostracized from her family. And… I just… Sorry. I didn't have a good reason to get mad at you. It was my fault."

She feels warmer.

"But… are you okay? Water doesn't injure your species too much, does it?"

"Thank… I'm fine. I… ugh… tired. I want… sleep."

"All right," she replies softly.

It's not long before she puts me down inside her little shelter. "Try and rest. I'll be back."

I hear her footsteps get softer. The feeling of being held on strong arms remains in my mind for a long time. It is reminiscent of my childhood memories…