Hey, everybody! Ta-Ni here. Just to let everyone know, I'm updating this story and Breaking a Heart of Gold on an alternating basis; hence why no upload of this story last week. Anyway, here's the next chapter of Sol's life story!
The flowery season soon came again, banishing the cold from the area. I had gone through another growth spurt, and now bore five tails, with one just starting to split into the sixth. My Ember attack was getting stronger, and I learned a dashing attack that Nana called Quick Attack. I noticed she had a thoughtful look on her face as she watched me train.
Then, one day over lunch, Nana said, "Sol, I think you are old enough and strong enough to begin your next lesson: how to hunt for yourself. So, from this moment on, you will be stalking for your own dinner; if you don't catch anything, you will go hungry for the night."
I whined a little at that; it seemed a little harsh for a first lesson. "But, Nana…" I whined again, trying to guilt her out of it, but she stood her ground. "When I was your age, my mother told me the same thing I'm telling you, and I whined as well. However, I survived, and I know you will too. Besides, I won't be around forever; you will need to learn one way or another, and I'd rather it be the former rather than the latter."
She smiled, though. "However, I promise I won't let you starve; it's only dinner you must hunt on your own. Come morning, you can have breakfast like normal. Eventually, you'll have to do ALL your hunting, but for now, it's just dinner." I breathed a sigh of relief at that, but I was still nervous. I mean, I've caught plenty of Rattatas, and the occasionally Pichu, but those won't fill a growing Vulpix's tummy; I needed to hunt bigger prey.
Anyway, she dismissed me to 'play', so I headed out of the cave and into the forest. She knew I was hoping to scope out my kill for tonight, and so let me out of her sight for now. Besides, I could handle myself, right?
After about a couple hours of searching, I found a good Pokémon to stalk for dinner: a lone buneary, young and plump. I circled around to get downwind, and then stealthily snuck through the brush toward it. A couple of times, I had to stop because it looked up, as if it sensed me coming; it didn't run away though. For my first solo hunt, this is going pretty well, I thought, getting cocky.
That's when a twig snapped under my forepaw, causing the buneary's ears to twitch toward my direction. "Bunn!" it said, turning to run. I panicked and pounced, trying to catch it off guard, but it dodged out of the way, bringing one ear down on my side and knocking me away. I thought it would continue to run, but instead it stood its ground to fight.
I started it off with a quick Ember, which it dodged easily with a Bounce before coming down on my back. I managed to roll out from under it, and then knocked it away with a Tackle. It retaliated by jabbing me with its right ear in a Dizzy Punch; my vision went out of focus for a moment because of the strike. Thus, I couldn't dodge as it charged a ball of bluish-white ball in front of it, which launched in a beam at me.
The beam pierced right through my side, sending stabbing cold throughout my body. My muscles seized up as they froze solid, making it harder to breathe. My vision grew foggy as ice formed in a thin layer over my body; the buneary had already stopped firing, but the cold kept spreading. My inner flame flickered dangerously; I couldn't harness its power to free myself. I was stuck, frozen solid, and who knows how far away from the den; face it, I'm a goner. I watched my future prey hop off without a word, and prayed that Nana would find me before it's too late.
An hour passes, then two. I watched the sun set behind the trees through the layer of ice; all my strength and concentration is trying to keep my flame burning, but it's steadily shrinking as time passes. I'm running out of time; if Nana doesn't find me soon, she's going to have a pup-sicle instead of a son. Then, I heard it; a faint, calling bark reached my frozen ears. The timbre seemed familiar, and as it got closer, I knew it was Nana!
As the barks got closer, my vision began to fade; I tried to cry out, but my throat was frozen shut. Then, I saw her: Nana, bounding toward me. She quickly rushed over, taking in the situation in an instant, and took a deep breath. Sparks flickered in her throat as she unleashed a huge blast of fire, engulfing my frozen form. My fur drank in the heat as the layer of ice melted and evaporated quickly, and my inner flame burst back to life. I collapsed, shivering violently, as the flames died down and Nana curled around me to finish warming me up.
As my shivering calmed down, Nana asked me, "What happened, honey? Did a trainer do this to you?" I shook my head through my trembles, stuttering, "N-no. The b-buneary I w-was h-hunting f-froze me, and then r-ran off. I-I'm sorry, N-nana." She gave me a lick between the ears in consolation. "It's all right. It was your first time, after all. I should have taught you more about dodging attacks. How about we go back to the den and warm up?"
"B…but what about dinner?" I asked. "I failed to catch anything, so I have to go hungry." She smiled. "Don't worry; I have plenty for tonight. You get a pass this one time because you weren't prepared; I didn't expect you to take it so seriously from the start." She got up, so I did too, and we walked back to the den.
The next morning, she taught me how to dodge incoming attacks, as well as what attacks various prey Pokémon could have and how to avoid them. We took a couple of days before I tried hunting on my own again, and this time I managed to take down a pachurisu that happened to come down from its tree by myself. I carried the Pokémon back to the den with a spring in my step, and Nana praised me as well!
I kept up my progress as the moons passed, and soon was handling most prey with ease, including the annoying buneary! Half the time, I managed to strike first and avoid a fight all together. Through it all, Nana watched as I grew and learned, a warm smile on her muzzle. She was proud of me, and I was proud to be her son. Unfortunately, neither of us knew how soon our happy times would be cut short.
Learning the ropes, Pokemon style! Don't judge Firedancer too harshly; there are animals in the real world that do the same thing to their young. Anyway, we'll find out in a couple of weeks what Sol meant in the end!
Read, review, and may your Ember never fade.
