Hey, everyone! Ta-Ni Kitsune here, bringing you another chapter in Vulpix TF. This is a very important point in his life, as well as being an emotional one, so if you feel the need to cry, don't worry. I almost did writing it, and I rarely cry. Anyway, here it is.

I will never forget that day, no matter how old I become. It was the flowery season, a few moons after my tenth hatch-day. Nana was showing me how to stalk large prey, for after I evolve; her target was a young stantler, grazing upwind of us and completely unaware of either of us.

Suddenly, the young buck looked up, startled by something; Nana froze in the brush just in case she spooked him, but the buck was looking away from both of us. A small, blue creature darted from the bushes and landed in front of the stantler, resolving into a little penguin. Then, a taller figure appeared behind it, standing on two legs and wearing odd skins over its body.

From cover, I heard Nana growl in a low tone, her eyes fixed on the two legs; curious, I prodded her paw a few times to get her attention. "Nana?" I asked quietly. "What's wrong?"

Her voice equally low, she replied, "That, little one, is a human. Even worse, he's a trainer; the piplup in front of him is his Pokémon." I looked at the human, who was yelling something at the piplup, which caused it to charge into the stantler. However, the buck dodged the attack and ran away, ruining our hunt!

"Darn, it ran away!" the trainer said. Nana tried to back away, motioning me to hide in the bushes, but her big paws snapped a twig, causing the human to turn around and notice her. "Oh, wow! An arcanine! Those Pokémon are extremely rare. Come on, Piplup! Let's catch it!"

Checking with a glance that I was safe, Nana stepped forward and got into a fighting pose. I was nervous: this was the first time I've seen Nana fight another Pokémon! The piplup darted forward, its beak glowing with power. Nana dodged it with ease, swiping a paw with claws outstretched at the passing Pokémon, leaving a few scratches on the penguin's body.

"Bubble!" the kid shouted, and the piplup's eyes went out of focus for a moment. A stream of bubbles shot from its beak, pelting Nana in the side; she flinched from the water-type attack, but stood firm since it was a weak attack anyway. The kid ordered the attack again, but this time the bubbles came out much faster, forming a literal beam of bubbles. This attack hit much harder, prompting Nana to dodge most of it instead of just taking it.

She growled, and then dashed forward, faster than the eye could see. The Extremespeed hit the piplup incredibly hard, knocking it across the clearing and falling unconscious instantly. The kid panicked and pointed a red-and-white ball at the fallen Pokémon, turning it into red light and drawing it inside. He then ran back the way he came.

As soon as the trainer's footsteps had faded into the distance, Nana collapsed in a heap, panting and whining slightly. I rushed out of the bushes and nuzzled into her, asking, "Nana, are you all right?" She gave me a faint smile and replied, "Just a little tired and sore; nothing to worry about. Still, where there is one trainer, there may be more. Sol, do you think you can find a couple of Oran berries for me?"

I nodded and ran off, eager to help Nana, and yet keeping an eye out for more trainers. The last thing I wanted was to get caught up in a battle on my own; I have never fought another Pokémon one-on-one. I soon found an Oran berry bush a few longstrides away, with several ripe berries on it. I grabbed a couple in my mouth, being careful not to bite down too hard and break the skin, and then crawled out of the bush.

However, as I turned around, a human trainer stepped from the trees. I froze, hoping he didn't spot me, but he looked right at me and gave me a cold smile. "Hm… a vulpix. Not something you see in the wild these days. Full-grown as well; interesting." He pulled out an odd red book and pointed it at me. It made a few noises that I didn't understand, but the guy smiled more. "A little on the weak side, but nothing evolution cannot fix. Manetric, you know what to do."

He unclipped a ball from his belt, tossing it lazily in front of him. A large blue and yellow dog materialized from it, not quite as big as Nana, but still twice as large as me. It growled at me, and then fired a very small beam of electricity at me; I tried to dodge, but got tripped up by the bush's roots behind me. The bolt didn't hurt, but it made my muscles lock up, causing me to stumble again. I barely got up when the manetric rammed into me and knocked me down again.

I got to my knees, breathing hard, and looked up to see the trainer pulling a red-and-white ball from his pack. He started to pull his arm back to throw when a piercing howl shattered the air, and a huge orange-and-white blur slammed into the manetric, eliciting a pained yelp. Standing before me was Nana, blocking me from the manetric's view, but I could still see the trainer staring with slight shock on his face.

"An arcanine, huh? He commented. "Now that's a nice surprise; much better than a vulpix, since I don't have to waste a fire stone. Manetric, ignore the small fry; target the arcanine with your Thunderbolt!" A lone bolt of lightning slammed into Nana, leaving small bolts dancing among her fur, but she stood her ground between the trainer and me.

"Sol…run…" I heard Nana say between pants of pain and the paralysis. I hesitated, not wanting to leave her, and she whirled on me and growled, "RUN!" Fear forced my numb limbs into motion, driving me into the bushes, but I didn't go far. I knew where a Cheri berry bush was nearby, to cure my paralysis, but then I knew I was coming back; Nana needed me!

Wolfing down one berry, and grabbing another for Nana, I rushed back against her orders. However, I was too late; I arrived in time to see the trainer throw a ball similar to the one that salamence carried at Nana, and she disappeared into red light. The ball wobbled once, and then clicked shut; I watched in horror as he calmly picked up the ball and began to walk away.

No…NO… "NO!" I screamed, dropping the berry in my mouth and running forward, my fangs bore in rage. I latched my teeth onto the trainer's leg, causing him to cry out in surprise and a little pain. He kicked out, which shook me off and tearing his pant leg in the process; I leapt to my feet to pounce again, but the manetric landed on me pinned me to the ground, belly first. "Stay down," he whispered in my ear with a growl, making me tense and struggle. "Unless you really want me to kill you…" I quickly changed my mind and stopped struggling.

Helpless, I watched the human walk up to me, waiting for him to catch me in another ball; at least I'll be with Nana, I thought dejectedly. However, he didn't catch me; instead, he said, "You're not worth the effort, you know; the arcanine is a much better catch. Still, you've got a lot of spirit." He reached into his pack and pulled something else, placing it a couple pawslengths away but just out of sight. "Tell you what," he said. "Use this and get stronger. Then maybe, we can have a real battle."

The trainer recalled the manetric off of me and walked away into the trees, but I didn't bother getting up. I lay there, slowly realizing I was now all alone. No more cuddling together at night, no more sharing meals, no…more…Nana… Tears sprang to my eyes and I released a mournful howl, ignoring the possible threat of other trainers; I didn't care. Combined with my injuries, I collapsed and cried myself to sleep.

Just for your information, longstrides and pawslengths are based off the Pokemon in question. For Sol, he was referring to Firedancer, so a longstride for her is about 20 yards, and a pawslength is a foot and a half.

As for what happens next, you'll have to wait for the next chapter. I will say this, it will quote a famous video game from a series other than Pokemon.

Also, for those of you following my other story, Breaking a Heart of Gold, I did miss last week's upload, but that's because I'm trying to jumpstart my memory by playing along in the game. I will have a chapter up next week, so stay tuned!

Please read and review, and may your Ember (or whatever you have) never fade.