Why are they in this picture? What are they doing with those three?

I tried very hard to keep my thoughts in order as I was processing what I had just seen on the picture that I investigated. On one side, it was information, information that could possibly lead to answers in the future, but it also confused me to no end.

I was trying to take what I knew from the picture and see if I could simplify the information that I had just received. At first, I instantly thought that this had to be the organization that the three who attacked me belonged to, but I instantly shot that thought out of my head when I realized that my parents were also most likely a part of said organization.

There is no way my parents were mindless killers… I won't believe it no matter what.

I tried to calm myself by finding probable reasoning that my parents were not in a group of cold-blooded killers, and sadly, in order to find said reasoning, I had to look back on the day where my life took a drastic turn. I took a large inhale, and then promptly exhaled.

I then closed my eyes and tried to remember with more detail.

I pictured the scene in my mind, all starting with the point in which I walked out of my home behind my mother. I remember looking at the three unknown pokemon, being confused and somewhat startled by their presence. I observed them closely in my mind, seeing if I could notice anything that stands out, something that sets them apart from others of their species besides their faces.

It was then that I noticed something on the Umbreon's chest, the Flygon's head, and the Absol's paw.

I saw a strange symbol, something that looked like it had been a part of their bodies themselves. It was a small dark circle, seemingly spiraling around a small hand from a bipedal pokemon. It wasn't exactly a badge, as it did actually seem to be embedded in the skin of the pokemon, but it looked like it had a similar purpose.

While I was replaying the horrible day in my head, there was something that I found a bit confusing. Everyone in that memory was in that picture I found, but it seemed like my Mother didn't know who the pokemon were, while my Father seemed familiar with them. My Mother started to ask who they were before my Father got attacked, while he was chatting with them in an almost casual manner. It seemed like he knew who they were, but my Mother had no idea.

After mentally noting that, I looked into the bag I had purchased earlier that day and took out a notepad and pen that I also purchased at the time of the bag. I wrote down my thoughts, if anything, to make sure I could keep them organized while I tried to piece everything together. After I finished writing, I went back to the memory, but to no avail. All that I was able to do after I noticed the badge-like symbol was relive the worst experience of my life. I also realized that I had a small amount of tears falling down my face from recalling the day, so I quickly wiped them away.

However, I'm glad I didn't suppress my thoughts, because I came to a realization shortly after I recalled the memory.

Why would the three attack and further kill my parents if they were allies? Also, if they worked together, why did only my Father know them while my Mother seemed to be ignorant to their existence?

After my train of thought settled, I felt myself calm down. With all of the information I put together, it is very unlikely that my parents were cold-blooded killers, and more likely that this picture resembles something else. Or, at least, I was telling myself this to make sure I didn't have a mental breakdown. My thoughts then went to another detail of the picture, being the word plastered above the frame.

'Ravens,' what does it mean? Is this maybe an organization that calls its members Ravens? Or does it stand for something? Is this even an organization? Is this just a group of long time friends meeting together again? Is there a purpose behind this picture, or was it just a nice picture of a group of pokemon? Why-

I cut off my mental questions before I gave myself a headache. I had too many questions, and not an answer to one of them. I had so many things that confused me, and nothing to remedy that confusion. I gripped my head in my forepaws and then waltzed back over to the bed that was provided to me. I felt the individual straws of the bed push against my fur, creating a soft, pleasurable place for me to sleep. After curling up, I closed my eyes and let my thoughts wander once again, going back to my mental confusion.

Maybe Naru has some answers… Maybe she can tell me what exactly this picture means, after all, it is in her house. Maybe she can give me some of the information I am so desparate for.

Maybe she can help me.

With those hopeful thoughts rushing through my head, I once again fell into a peaceful slumber.

?

I looked around the large, beautifully constructed building that I find myself spending most of my time in. The red carpeting on the stairs and the purple theme that clouds every other room in this place just gives it a very alluring design. This was definitely the only place I was able to think whatever I wanted without raising suspicion. I wondered what my life would be like if I wasn't at the mercy of a sadist who tortures others as a hobby. I would assume that it would be a hell of a lot more pleasant, but I suppose I couldn't guarantee something that doesn't exist.

I let out an irritated sigh, not wanting to have to keep up the act I've been putting on for so long.

When I was done thinking about what my life could have been, I decided to do what I always do in this room; think about random things. My mind wandered to around aimlessly, not knowing what to think or do at the moment. I always spent my time like this when I didn't have a task to complete. After some time passed, I remembered something that happened earlier today. I walked passed a rather peculiar Umbreon.

The Umbreon looked familiar… Like I've seen them once a very long time ago. They also seemed like they were scared of me, as in, petrified. The mon literally froze as I walked by, which caused me a slight bit of confusion.

I can't remember for the life of me if I've seen that Umbreon somewhere before… but I need to keep my eye out.

That Umbreon… had a very distinct atmosphere around them.

One that was on a mission, and one who won't let anyone stand in the way of them accomplishing their goals.

I just hope that goal doesn't involve the ones I'm currently stuck under, otherwise I'll be forced to do something about it.

I then turned around to the bedchamber that I initially came from, and walked back into it, suppressing my urge to leave and let out energy during the night.

I walked through the somewhat large bedroom, sporting another deep purple color, and sprawled myself out on the soft cushions that made up my bed.

I then fell into a blank sleep.

Kuro

I woke up groggily from my deep slumber and stretched out all four of my legs while slowly getting up off of the straw bed I had been sleeping on. I was admittedly expecting some of the straw to be caught in my fur, but I found none, my fur was still in the same exact condition as it was last night. The reason it surprised me is because, with my old bed that had the same design, The straws would constantly come off of it and lodge themselves deep within my fur, which was a bit of an annoyance, so I wasn't complaining here.

Must have been constructed better than mine… I thought.

After I finally, fully woke my mind up, I cast my gaze down to the wound I had sustained the previous night. It seemed to already be healing, as it wasn't really a deep wound to begin with, so the healing process wouldn't take very long. I still decided it would be a good idea to hide it if I went out in public though, even if it was faint, the wound did still scale across the entirety of the side of my body, which I would presume would make others uncomfortable.

I took my scarf and draped it over the wound that ran down the side of my body in order to make sure it wasn't immediately visible to anyone who sees me. Just as I finished that, a familiar Glaceon walked into the room to greet me.

"Morning Kuro!" She exclaimed. "Were you able to sleep well?"

"I slept great, thank you for the place to stay once again." I responded to her with an appreciative tone. I felt my mind urging me to ask questions regarding the picture that I had found the previous night, but I held myself back from barraging Naru with questions just as we both woke up. Instead, I suggested something else.

"Is there a place around here to get some food? I've haven't eaten much the past few days." I asked her. As soon as I did, I saw her face light up with glee.

"Of course! There are a lot of places here to eat, you kind of have to because if the size of this place, you know?" She responded. "Want me to take you to one close to here? It's a nice place, but a bit expensive."

"Sure, I'd love that, and money really isn't a problem, I should be able to handle any price." I told her.

"Great! Then let's go before it gets crowded!" Naru said excitedly.

I nodded and followed her out the door.

While we were walking down the same, smooth road that I used to get here, I took in the sight of all of the tall buildings around me, still not used to being around any structures, let alone these magnificent ones. I almost bumped into Naru as she stopped in front of me, motioning to the restaurant in front of us.

"Here it is! Let's go get some food, shall we?" She towards the Orange building with nothing indicating it had a name of any kind. I quickly followed suit.

The restaurant was a grand and beautiful building, while not being very large, it had a deep red carpeting, with golden lines intertwining all around as if swimming in the red. The walls had a pure, smooth wooden composure, that was also very pleasing to the eye. We sat down across from one another at one of the tables, also made out of the same wooden construction that made up the walls, topped off with a nice cloth that sported a dark brown color, along with white circles spread out around the color of the cloth. I ordered a small platter of different berries, as I really didn't like to eat meat. Eating the meat of other pokemon was considered normal, but I could never bring myself to enjoy it, so I kept to eating berries from the day I was born to present times. Naru ordered the same thing that I did, apparently because she had never tried it, despite being here hundreds of times. We spent a small amount of time eating in silence, just enjoying the delicious food. Every time I bit into a berry, a fresh stream of juice made its way into my mouth, creating a flavour that I couldn't express with words, something very sweet but never becoming too much for your tastebuds to handle. I didn't dwell on the thought, I just continued eating the delicious food. After a good amount of time had passed and both of us were almost done, I decided it was time for me to for me to ask a question.

"Hey Naru, do you mind if I ask you a question?" I asked her.

She picked up her head from her plate and locked eyes with me.

"Sure, what did you want to ask?" She said curiously.

I inhaled and exhaled slightly, ready to suppress emotions I knew would be risen up as I ask my question.

"I woke up in the middle of the night yesterday, and I came across a picture in the corner of the room that had a group of a huge group of pokemon with the word 'Ravens' above the frame, do you know what that picture is exactly?" I finished asking her, not mentioning the five pokemon that I recognized in the picture.

"Oh, that was probably something left by my brother, it's an organization that he adored, they call their members 'Ravens' and apparently they're a group of pokemon who fight against some kind of other group that goes around and needlessly kills innocent pokemon. I don't know much about them, and their name isn't public like what they call their members, but I know that they recruit people somewhere in this town. You have to go through some battle preliminary process, and then they pick fifteen people as members of the applicants that applied. They seem like they have a lot of very strong pokemon involved, and they are greatly respected by almost all of Myriad." Naru explained.

After listening intently, my thoughts went back to all of the questions I had last night. Some of them had actually been answered, it looks like I was on the right track asking Naru about that picture, but that made me think of something else.

After learning that there were two opposing organizations, one killing innocents, and one trying to stop said killing of innocents. I had almost no doubt in my mind that by the way that the Gallade that attacked Naru was acting, he was most likely a member of the former, it would make a lot of sense. I also had quite a hunch that the three who attacked my family could also be a part of that group, but I didn't know for sure.

I needed some kind of connection…

Then it hit me.

"Naru, when that Gallade attacked you, did you see anything strange on its body? Like, something that resembled a badge, but was a part of their body?" I quickly asked.

Naru seemed surprised by my sudden and fast response, but she kept her eyes on mine and gave me the answer I was hoping for,

"Yeah… He had some weird black circle on his body, it looked like a spiral with the hand of a bipedal in the center." She told me.

My spirit lit up within my body, know finally knowing the answer to a question I've had since the day my life went to hell, I finally knew an answer to one of the questions that have been plaguing me for years, and that filled me with a great feeling of excitement.

It's all thanks to Naru… She gave me an important answer that I desperately needed.

"Why did you want to know? Do you know something about that symbol?" Naru asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Not really, I just thought that the members of some evil organization like that had to have some form of identification, it just makes sense." I lied.

I really didn't want to lie to Naru, especially now that she helped me with a huge question that I've had for years on end, but I just couldn't bring myself to tell her what happened to me. I knew she had been through harsh events in the past as well, hence why I haven't brought up her family at all, I can infer that something happened to them and I know that she wouldn't want to talk about it. To my understanding, knowing what happened to me may remind her of whatever she went through, and I didn't need to cause her any more pain.

We finally finished our food, payed at the tall front desk near the entrance, and were bid farewell by the owner. As we were walking down the street, my eyes came across the very large building that I found myself in the other day, the one that I used to take refuge from the storm.

"Hey, Naru, do you know what this building's purpose is?" I asked her. She looked up at the enormous building and shook her head.

"No, sorry, I've never been in here before. I guess it never really intrigued me." She answered in an apologetic tone.

"No need to apologize, it's not a problem." I assured her. "Why don't we go in and check it out for ourselves? It can't hurt to find out." I mentioned. My idea seemed to gain Naru's interest, before she smiled and looked me in the eyes.

"Sure! Let's do it! Sounds like this will be interesting." Naru said in a very energetic tone.

I smiled at her and walked up to the front door before opening it and being introduced to a very familiar landscape. Naru seemed to be checking out and admiring the deep purple carpeting that I admired when I first set foot in here. We only walked around the building for a few moments when we noticed the bright red carpeted staircase that I refrained from exploring yesterday. We both began to climb the staircase, only to come up to a mostly empty room with nothing but a single desk with a Bisharp behind it. The room had a dark blue color on its floor, as well as a plain, gray coloring around the walls that made up the construction of the gigantic room. We walked up to the desk, mostly curious as to what exactly it was. The Bisharp then looked up at us with an observing gaze, but that gaze turned into an amused one when their eyes came upon my scarf.

"It has been quite a while since a duo of eeveelutions walked in here, do you two want to apply?"

I was supremely confused at first, but when I tried to piece together what exactly he had just said in my mind, a distinct possibility presented itself to me. Naru then began talking, and my assumptions started to gain some certainty.

"Apply for what exactly? We've never been here before, so we don't know what this place employs." Naru said.

"So you're telling me you just wandered in here aimlessly?" He playfully taunted.

The thoughts in my head finally clicked, and I spoke up.

"Wait, are you talking about applying for… that organization that gives its members the name of Ravens?" I asked.

The Bisharp just gave a small smile and nodded, prompting Naru and I to look at each other.

"Well I guess we found the answer to our question earlier." I told Naru. She then gave me an amused smile and her expression quickly changed to a slightly more serious one.

"Well, do you want to apply to be a member? You seemed interested in them earlier, and it looks like this is where you can be a part of it." She asked me.

A swarm of thoughts poured through my head, ranging from the consideration of joining, to denying the application and going back to wandering the streets.

Well, if I need answers… this would certainly be the place to get them… What better place to go to than the ones in the picture themselves? I asked myself.

"I… I don't know. I honestly feel like I want to join, but I'm not exactly familiar with how anything works around here, plus I don't know how cut out I am for going up against a bunch of murderous psychopaths." I stated. If when I ran into the Absol was any indication, then I don't know if it's the best idea for me to be battling other pokemon like that. I must have had an unsure expression on my face, because Naru approached me with a concerning look. She almost looked like she really wanted me to join… Almost as if she knows that this is the only place I can go to get the answers I need.

"Remember, Kuro, if you don't want to join than that's fine…" She started. "But I can tell you really want to, although I don't know why, whether it's because you just want to stop pokemon from doing heinous things, or if it's for some entirely different reason, I have no idea. However, I think you should try it. I have a reason to do it, and I'm also considering the decision, so I'm in the same boat as you, but I think you should go through with it, follow what you think is right." Naru finished.

I honestly didn't know what to think. I had just learned about this place earlier today, and now I was being offered to apply to be a member. What was I supposed to say? I barely knew what anything was outside of the den that I grew up in, so was it really a good Idea to make a decision like this right after I decided to leave my endless cycle? At the same time I thought about this, I remembered the reason I broke that cycle in the first place. I wanted answers. I was willing to do anything to help me reach these answers, and this would definitely be a step in the right direction, and a lot faster than I expected to get one.

I decided to let Naru's words resonate within my mind. I repeated what she told me in my head several times over, trying to let it help me finalize my decision.

Eventually, I made my choice.

"I'll apply." I strongly said. "I have a reason as to why I want to be here, and I need to follow through on that to the best of my ability… So… I'll apply." I stated.

I saw Naru in the corner of my eye give me a bright smile, and I returned it. After all, my choice very well might have been different had she not encouraged me, so I was very happy to have Naru with me.

I was happy to finally have a friend by my side.

"Okay, I'll put you down on the list." The Bisharp said with a smile. "And how about you young Glaceon? Will you apply as well?"

Naru seemed to ponder in thought for a quick moment but then quickly perked up and responded.

"Of course I'll apply! No reason not to try, right?" She said with a smile.

The Bisharp then wrote down Naru's name on the same list mine was on. He turned his head to us with a slightly more serious expression, but still kept his heartful smile.

"Luckily for you two, we are going to select members for the new week of applicants in about two hours, so you don't need to wait long." He said. "Come to this room at that time, and then we will hold the applications for you and the other forty-eight pokemon that you will be contending with." He finished.

Naru and I both gave him a firm nod and then exited the building, heading back to Naru's home because she said she wanted to get something before we applied. After we arrived, I waited outside for Naru to go in and get whatever she needed.

I wonder what she needed to get..? I pondered.

Naru

I walked into my home quickly, rushing down the plain hallway into my blue room, when I looked to the corner and stared at a familiar scarf and bag… belonging to my late brother.

I gave the items a sad smile and picked them up into my paws.

I closely inspected the bright red scarf that used to belong to my Brother, feeling the comfortable silk texture that it had. I stroked it with a paw, and was instantly attacked by memories of when my Brother was alive. He really was a cheerful child, while he never really took anything seriously, he always knew how to cheer someone up, whether it by sheer encouragement, or by showing someone his obsessive nature when it can to the Ravens.

He always so closely admired them... He always wanted to be like them….

I pondered in my thoughts for a bit before they went back to when my Brother was alive. I felt a twitch of pain in my heart and felt tears start to build up, threatening to move to my eyes and fall out.

I pushed them down, it took some effort, but after a short while, I was able to regain my original composure.

I'm…. I'm going to try and become one of them… Try to become one of the people that you admired… One of the people you wanted to be like… So please… Watch over me and wish me luck…

I prayed to my Brother, hoping that he was listening from the afterlife.

Besides, I'm not alone… I have Kuro… The first person I can really call a friend….

After regaining my usual self once more, I wrapped the red scarf around my neck and slung the black bag over my back. I then ran back outside, going back to Kuro.

Going back to my friend.

Kuro

Naru now sported a deep red scarf, similar to the one I had on other than the color, her deep red contrasting to my light teal. She was also holding a decently sized black bag, a bit smaller than the one that I was holding, but also didn't impair her movement in any way. If anything, it looked like it hung off of her a lot more naturally than mine hung off of me.

"Sorry for having to come back here, I just wanted to get these two pieces and take them with me to the application." She said somewhat apologetically.

"No need to apologize, a few accessories are nice things to have, they look natural on you." I said with a small smile.

Naru then seemed to avert her gaze, but I didn't really think anything of it and we started to walk back to the building that we initially came from. We walked in silence, both mentally preparing ourselves for whatever we would have to do in order to apply, because neither of us had the faintest idea. Would we be put in a combat situation? Would they test our mental strength? Would they test how resistant we are to pain? Neither of us knew what we were getting ourselves into, but we didn't care, we knew the reasons we needed to apply, and we were going to go through with it.

We have to go through with it.

We arrived back at the large building and headed up the deep red stairs back to the room where we signed up to apply. Only this time, the room was packed with many others. The room was bustling with noise, with the presumably forty-eight other pokemon in the room according to the Bisharp that helped us apply. Naru and I awkwardly fidgeted our way around the crowd and tried to push ourselves towards the front with only slight succession. We made it about halfway up the room when we were all silenced by the Bisharp that helped us apply, who was now standing at the head of the room. He smiled at everyone there and then opened his mouth to begin speaking.

"Welcome all aspiring Ravens!" He shouted loudly, prompting a few cheers among the crowd. "It is time for all of you to apply for your admission as a Raven! How will you go about doing this you may ask? Well, it's a very simple process, you just need to prove to us your combat ability! We have already organized a tournament bracket that all of you will be fighting in and judged upon appropriately. Each of the one on one fights that you will be watched closely for fighting style, state of mind, combat ability, and many more variables to show us just what exactly you're capable of. You don't necessarily need to win any of your fights to be chosen as one of our sixteen admissions, you just need to prove that you will be a very effective asset to us in our fight! We not only once had someone who lost in the first round make the cut, but we also had someone who won the whole tournament not get chosen at all, so never lose hope, no matter how far you get! We originally took in fifteen members as oppose to sixteen, but a new policy has increased our number, that new policy will be explained to you if you are one of the ones to be accepted. Now, there are fifty of you standing in front of me, but we will have fifty-two pokemon participating in the tournament, the extra two are current members of our organization. This is another way to test your abilities in combat, going up against a pokemon that already has a lot of battling experience with us is certainly a challenge, so we'd like to measure how you fare in a fight against them. We will have an arena that the battles will be taking place in, you win the battle by either knocking your opponent into one of the walls surrounding the arena, or knocking them unconscious. We will have Audino medics on standby if anyone gets too injured to move properly, so you don't need to worry about holding back! Now that everything has been explained, why don't we promptly begin out battles!" The Bisharp's speech ended, prompting many cheers from the crowd around us.

"Without further ado, here are the tournament matchups!" The Bisharp yelled.

I bright screen seemed to be projected on the wall next to the crowd, showing pictures of pokemon in a large tournament bracket sporting bright white lines on a black background. Everyone was excitedly checking out the board, eager to see where they had been placed, while I could barely see because I was smaller than ninety percent of the pokemon there, even the ones that were in the first form of their evolutionary line.

Sometimes I wonder where I got my genes that make me so small…

Kicking away my thoughts, I finally got a view at the board. The second match of the admissions had a pokemon with a star next to its picture, presumably meaning that pokemon was a present member of the organization, but that wasn't what made me tense up at the picture.

What made me tense up… Was that the pokemon in the picture was one I recognized all too well.

It was a familiar Absol.

I tried not to freeze in the spot and decided to focus on finding my placement while I had the chance, only to find something that tensed me just as much as the previous revelation.

I was in the first match, the very first pokemon on the board.

My opponent was a Dragonite, who was standing not too far away from me, which I found out after glancing across the room.

Of all pokemon…. Why do I have to be in the first match…?

I sighed and then looked further down the board and found that Naru was up against an Arcanine in the sixth match. I admittedly felt a little bit bad for her because of the type disadvantage, but I knew that if she had the confidence to apply to this place, she was competent in battle, so I hoped she would do well.

The last match that caught my attention was the one right after Naru's which was a Luxray against a Gallade, different from the Gallade that attacked Naru, but the interesting thing about this was the star next to the picture. That Gallade was a present member.

I looked around and found the Luxray who was to be participating in that match. When my eyes found them, they were noticeably tense, as they knew their situation. I mentally wished the Luxray good luck and turned my attention to the Bisharp, who was now in front of the projected ladder.

"Okay now, it's time for everyone to battle!" The Bisharp shouted, as the wall behind him collapsed, revealing a bright white staircase that led to the floor above.

Naru and I cast each other nervous glances, before following the rest of the crowd up the staircase.

When we reached the top, we were blessed with the sight of many stands for pokemon to sit as an audience, as well as an enormous arena poised at the center of the arena was made of metallic blocks, creating a very stable ground to be fighting on, while the walls were made out of an orange colored wood. The arena spanned over a gigantic amount of space, and it was safe to say that knocking your opponent into the wall would not be the easiest thing on the planet. All of this was surrounded by a large metallic dome that had gorgeous windows at the apex of it, showing us the midday sky.

Did I really miss this entire thing looking at this place from outside? I mentally asked myself.

"Without stalling any farther, let's begin the first match! We have a very interesting setup to start us of, an Umbreon against a Dragonite!" The Bisharp announced.

Everyone started to fill up the spectating area within a matter of seconds. Instead of going there however, I had to go down to the arena, all while my heart was beating at about twenty times the recommended rate. Naru was following me down the long, wooden staircase that led to the prep rooms next to the arena. She couldn't enter the prep room with me, but she could at least walk with me there, after all, having her with me did ease my nerves a small bit. We got to the door that contained the prep room, it was a simple, metal door, nothing special about it. The purple wallpaper surrounding it shined with the same glow that the carpeting in the main lobby has.

"Well, I guess this is far as I can go, good luck out there Kuro!" Naru encouraged me with a smile.

"R-Right… I'll do my best." I answered with an attempted smile, but it was short lived as I stepped into the prep room.

The room, like the door, was very plain. There was no coloring to the walls whatsoever, just a solid metallic room other than the floor, which was made out of the same wood that the walls of the arena were made out of. There wasn't too much in the room itself, just a small locker to put any items that you didn't want breaking during your battle. I put my bag in the locker, but decided to leave my scarf on. Even if I just bought this scarf from some kind of grocery store as soon as I entered a town for the first time, knowing that my parents both wore a similar kind of scarf comforted me. It slightly boosted my confidence, despite being about to go up in front of more than fifty pokemon and battle. Not to mention, the material was fireproof, waterproof, and was highly resilient to anything that could possibly tear it.

I looked up above the exit to the prep room and saw a red light that I didn't notice on my way in, I guessed that the light changed color when it was time for me to walk over to the arena and start the battle with my Dragonite opponent.

As if on cue, I looked up at the light when it turned from a deep red to a bright green, prompting me to leave. I took a deep inhale and exhale, slapped myself in the face with one of my paws, and opened the door.

I took a few steps out, and I walked to my side of the arena.

Being down in the supremely large arena felt quite a bit different than looking down upon it from afar. I felt the cold metal against all four of my paws, and that cold seeped up and through my body. I heard various cheers from the crowd when my Dragonite opponent entered the arena, which didn't help the anxiety and nervousness I was feeling. I saw the Bisharp grab a mic that he had been keeping on a small tower near the arena. He then put the mic to his mouth, ready to speak.

"Are both sides ready to battle?" He asked. I reluctantly nodded my head, surprised that I could even manage that with my uneasiness.

I then looked across to the Dragonite, and they also nodded their head.

"Okay, then get ready!" The bisharp said.

"Three!"

"Two!"

"One!"

I crouched down into a battle position, watching the Dragonite raise their hands, seemingly ready to lob my head off.

"Battle begin!" The Bisharp shouted, prompting the crowd to cheer intensely.

As soon as I focused on my opponent, they immediately took to the skies, and cast me a glare from their height. I stood still, trying to observe what exactly the Dragonite was planning to do. It was almost as if they were observing me as I was to them.

The Dragonite poised their head back and swiftly launched a wave of fire directly at me a lot faster than I was ready for. I barely managed to hop out of the fire's proximity before looking back up at my opponent. Without waiting a second, The Dragonite was swiftly charging towards me, a blue aura surrounding its body. It swooped at me with immeasurable speed, but I still managed to quick attack out of the way just as I was about to get rammed. The Dragonite, not looking at all caught off guard by the dodge, swiftly turned its body back towards me and rushed back at me with the same speed. I was ready this time however, so I looked straight into the Dragonite's eyes, not moving an inch. The Dragonite continued to get closer to me, every millisecond that passed, they were quickly closing the small distance between us. As soon as the Dragonite was centimeters away from me, I swiftly ducked under the head of the Dragonite, and readied myself to counterattack. I found myself directly under the Dragonite, so I released the most powerful dark pulse I could muster, and I launched it directly into the stomach of the Dragonite. I heard them grunt in pain, and also was able to deduce that they were a Male, but that wasn't important right now. The Dragonite quickly recovered, and immediately sent a bright purple light flying at me. I didn't have a chance to react, so I took the light head on. I felt the searing pain drive through my body as soon as it hit me, and the beam sent me back quite a distance. My body slid across the metallic floor, and let me tell you, that didn't help with the growing pain in my body. I then steadied myself and stood back up, only to see the Dragonite high in the sky again, ready to attempt to blast me away again. I prepared myself for whatever attack the Dragonite was about to throw at me, but it just flew in one spot… Steadily lowering and rising while not making any attempt to attack me.

Why isn't he attacking? He has the height advantage and doesn't seem injured at all…

I then considered a possibility.

Did my dark pulse do a lot more damage than I thought?

I decided to test my luck and launch a shadow ball directly at the Dragonite. He dodged it, but his movements were sluggish and forced, confirming my initial guess.

That must be it! He's more damaged than I initially thought! I exclaimed in my mind.

Realizing this, I decided to rapid fire shadow balls into the sky, not necessarily trying to hit the Dragonite, but trying to make him move, trying to make him waste more energy. After about ten seconds of dodging, the Dragonite realized what I was trying to do, and then made a beeline towards me, still sporting the same glow as before, just not nearly as fast. I attempted to do the same exact motion that I did the first time, but the Dragonite expected that. As soon as I slid under him, he released a fire blast directly towards my back.

However, despite seeing it coming, I decided not to dodge.

I felt the fire practically burn off the fur and skin wrapped around my body, and I suppressed a scream in agony. The Dragonite flew slightly farther away from me, but close enough to see the burns all over my body.

What he didn't see, was the smirk I had on my face as I turned away, the burning starting to fade a little bit.

Soon after, the Dragonite's body also burst into flames, causing the same searing pain I felt, only slightly reduced due to its typing. However, it wasn't damage I was smirking about.

It was the fact that his wings had caught fire.

Now he can't fly anymore, it's time for me to push ahead! I mentally exclaimed.

Now that the Dragonite was standing and not flying, I used a quick attack to get close to him, and I engulfed my paw with a dark aura, smashing it into the body of the Dragonite. He let out a howl of pain and began to step away from me, but I kept pushing forward. Every time I got close enough to him, I jammed a paw into his stomach. He consistently attempted to counterattack, sending multiple fire blasts and dragon pulses back at me, but I kept my mind clear and swiftly strafed out of the way of each attack, all while rapidly approaching him. I may have stopped doing damage, but that didn't matter.

What really mattered, is that I had been pushing the Dragonite back the entire time.

As soon as we had gone a far enough distance, I took a step back and launched a dark pulse at the Dragonite, sending him flying back… Straight into the wooden border around the arena. The Dragonite's body slumped to the ground, and he was slightly groaning in pain.

"And that marks the end of the match! Victory goes to Kuro the Umbreon!" The Bisharp exclaimed.

The crowd surrounding me began to vigorously cheer, making me quite a bit uncomfortable, but I couldn't help the small smile from growing on my lips as I realized the situation.

I actually won… I have a chance at getting accepted into the organization! I thought excitedly.

I slowly walked towards the side of the arena, still a bit fatigued from being engulfed in flames… But the Audino waiting for me took care of it promptly and I was walking normally again.

I exited out of the prep room, only to be immediately greeted by Naru, a very excited smile plastered on her face.

"Congratulations Kuro! That was amazing! How did you manage to light him on fire?" Naru very rapidly asked.

To her question, I smiled and gave a short, one word answer.

"Synchronize." I stated.

Naru slightly tilted her head, prompting me to explain.

"My ability, Synchronize," I started to explain. "It can return elemental damage to my opponent if I'm attacked by them severely. It's usually just a small advantage when you screw up and get hit hard, but if you're creative with it, you can really use it to your advantage," I said.

Naru gave me a look of understanding and then returned to her bright smile.

The same bright smile that gave me chills.

I slightly averted my eyes from her, trying to make sure that the heat building up in my face didn't become visible.

"Come on, let's go back to the stands and watch the next match, it should be starting soon." Naru told me with a smile.

"Sure, sounds like fun." I responded, returning the smile.

With that, in high spirits, we both left the arena and headed back to the stands.