The red fox brought a paw to her head, exhaling softly, attempting to wipe the sweat from her brow and eyes. She put her trusty tools into the faded messenger bag that hung by her side, stuffing the last of the salvageable remains deep into the bag.
How long had she been suspended vertically? Two hours? Three? The Vulpix had a tendency to lose track of time while they were hard at work like this. It was much harder for her to climb down than it had been to get up there. A dizzying wave overtook her, but she was relieved when her paws finally made contact with the steel floor.
"All in a fair day's work," the Pokemon whispered to herself as she exited the construction via one of the countless little holes along the side of the big white edifice.
From outside, she could see the evening sun caressing the orange skyline once more. It would be wise to seek refuge as quickly as possible before the darkness fully sets in. After all, that was when they were most likely to...
While reclining on her back, she proceeded to slide down a protruding limb of the immense, ancient structure. It was built by creatures that had traversed the land long before her or her ancestors. Its purpose remained a complete mystery to her. It appeared to be made of a multitude of durable metals. Its placement, in the middle of the forest, among primeval, fallen trees, with the front-most feature buried in the earth, led her to believe that the structure was not always meant to be on the ground. If the construction was not intended to be on land, it implied that it was intended to be in the air, where only bird-like Pokemon and related species could be found.
At the end of the improvised slide, the red fox's feet finally touched the ground. After double-checking that she had all of her belongings, she was on her way. Oh, how could she have forgotten?
The Vulpix retrieved a royal blue fabric from her satchel and put it over her muzzle, securing it tightly so it wouldn't move or fall throughout her travels. She was all set at this point. That was something she could never forget. "Gotta find a place to rest for the night," she said to herself as she began to look for a suitable place to sleep.
The Volbeat and Illumise, shrouded by the dense treetops, were her only sources of illumination as she proceeded through the increasingly dark forest. The chirping of innumerable bird Pokémon within the hollows they called home could be heard. The residents of the area looked to be settling down for the night. A melancholy smile appeared on the red fox's face.
To be honest, she'd never had much of a bond with any other Pokémon. The vixen wouldn't lie to herself. She was lonely. A lone wolf. She had come to accept it. She had no friends. She had no remaining family. She had no one to call her own. She yearned to one day meet someone special; someone she could declare a true companion and friend. She yearned to meet someone who could make her laugh, smile and feel joy. A friend that she could share many of her own jokes with. Unfortunately, that would have to wait until another day.
The Vulpix was deep in thought, contemplating a location that would be suitable for a night's temporary refuge. It seemed highly unlikely that there would be a cave nearby, let alone one that was vacant.
In most cases, Pokemon sought refuge in caves, which were generally the first sites claimed in a given , the vast majority of caves were already populated by other Pokemon. They weren't common, but they were ideal habitats for a variety of species due to their size and shelter from the elements.
The treetops were another viable option for temporary shelter, although finding a suitable tree to climb would, however, take some time. Not to mention the time and effort it would take to tie a rope around the tree's branches and her body to secure her from falling out while she was sleeping.
The vixen's trance was broken as a drop of water hit her on the nose. The sound of distant rumbling quickly ruled out the possibility of spending the night up in the treetops. Due to the obvious threat of high gusts of wind, heavy rainfall, and, of course, lightning strikes, it was simply too dangerous.
The red fox sighed, gulping audibly. Her options were starting to run out. She could dig a hole in the undergrowth, but that would take time. If there was too much rainfall, the hole would be flooded. The more she pondered on where she would stay, the more anxious she became. She had to find a place to hide and fast. She had no idea how long it would take for the storm to catch up, but she knew it would be sooner rather than later.
Her now dripping crimson hair dangled in front of her eyes, long and flowing in the wind. She had to get out of the downpour, but had nowhere to go. The rain became more intense with every passing moment. The red fox had been on the road for some time and was starting to feel the effects of the long trek. She was tired, hungry, and just wanted to sleep. The rain continued to fall on the poor female.
Moments later, she'd set up her camp beneath a great elm tree. She shifted her gaze up to the overcast night sky, which was lit up by a moon veiled by the sun's lingering presence. The relatively meek display was occasionally blotted by white streaks sprinkled over the gray-black palette, like fractures in a pane of glass. The stars were nowhere to be seen.
Her phobia of thunderstorms began when she was just a kit. The memory of the first storm she ever witnessed remained trapped within the recesses of her mind to this very day. The rumbling shook her to her very core as the light flashed brilliantly through the windows of her home. She was convinced that the loud noises and bright lights were going to kill her. Her mother, on the other hand, was there to comfort her, reassuring the young kit that everything would be okay. She was a powerful, gorgeous Ninetales who knew her child would be able to handle anything thrown her way.
Her terror was not only confined to the sight of the blinding, ferocious lightning strikes; it was also fueled by the sudden, booming thunder that preceded the intensity of the electrical surges that lit up the night sky. Instead, she also couldn't bear the sound of the sudden, booming thunder, preemptive to the sizzling strikes of electricity. It's plausible that either of these factors contributed to her anxiety of being alone and isolated in the dark.
CRACK!
A great clap of thunder shook the red fox to her very core. After a few moments of silence, the hair on the back of her neck began to descend once more. She exhaled slowly, not realizing just how long she had been holding her fox's heart started to beat faster, and she began to feel a bit light-headed. The fox's eyes began to water as her hair stood on end.
This would have been the fourth storm this week. The frequency of bizarre and extreme weather patterns has steadily increased over the last few months. She recalled farmers around town lamenting the drought brought on by a lack of rain. Their wishes for rainfall looked to have come true.
During her travels, the fire type had overheard a lot of intriguing stories and gossip. She took the liberty of recording the stories—or at least as many details as she could—in the old leather book her mother had gifted her on her sixth birthday.
That's it! Reading her diary never failed to calm her nerves! She couldn't help the toothy grin that spread across her muzzle as she retrieved the book from her satchel, opening it to the page she visited most. It was in her nature to listen in on other folks' conversations. While she was fully aware that eavesdropping was impolite, she knew that it was the only way she could gather the information required to live a life like this. After all, she would never have heard such a wonderful story if she hadn't eavesdropped.
The fire type had heard fascinating tales passed around by the folks in remote villages of a strange creature that lived in the mountains. They said that the beast was a dark type, one of the region's most feared types of Pokemon. The beast was notorious for burning down settlements, wrecking crops, and bringing bad weather.
Returning the book to her bag, the fox moved to retrieve the spoils from that day's excursion, preparing to clean them. The fox had come to terms with the fact that she wouldn't get much sleep at this hour. She retrieved a worn rag from her satchel and held it out in the rain to dampen it. She began wiping off one of the metal plates after it was sufficiently moist with the aim of eliminating any and all signs of erosion to the best of her ability.
CRRRRACK!
After recuperating from her initial rush of adrenaline, the Vulpix deduced that the storm was growing closer. She stuffed the rag and the metal plates back into her bag.
BOOM!
The Vulpix's eyes closed tightly, and her ears flattened against her head as she leaned against the tree. Another tremendous explosion erupted in the nighttime skies, causing all the hair to stand on end. The frightened girl let out a little whimper that was drowned out by the series of explosions in the sky above. Then came an explosion tremendous enough to send her flying face first into the earth. Her vision became black for a short moment…