A/N: Sorry for the long wait.

"So, that's when I met Mewtwo, and he told me I had to defeat the legendary dragons to prove my strength."

"Oh, really? Was that before or after you fought every gym leader in Kalos at once?"

The girl scoffed, clearly offended by Flare's lack of belief.

"You're just jealous that my life is so amazing."

"Sure. If you say so."

Flare sighed. He wasn't a fan of this girl. Instead of doing something normal, like exchanging a greeting, or thanking Flare for sharing his food, she chose to regale Flare with stories of her life. Flare wouldn't have minded learning more about the mysterious guest, but the stories she told conflicted far too often for Flare to believe they were real, which only made Flare far more annoyed. Fortunately for Flare, things were looking up.

"Hey, the rain is letting up."

Flare nearly leapt with excitement. He could finally get away from this strange girl. He could finally continue on his journey.

"Good. Well, this has been...interesting, but I really have to get going if I want to make it to Striaton before nightfall. So, uh, I'm gonna pack up and go. Good luck with your hunt for the dragons and whatnot."

Flare didn't wait for the girl's response, instead opting to turn around and pack up. After he gathered his belongings into his pack, he turned around, only to notice something odd.

"Hey, did you return your Pansear?"

The girl appeared confused. "No, I didn't. He should have been right here, and he doesn't run off without a reason."

"Alright...no need to panic. I'm sure Hunter saw where he went. I'll ask him. Hey, Hunter!"

Flare awaited his partner's response. The light splashes of the rain seemed deafening compared to the silence of the forest.

"Maybe...maybe he didn't hear me. Hunter! Buddy?"

The forest surrounding the road seemed to be frozen in time. The stillness would have calmed Flare in any other situation, but now it only frightened him.

"Um...ok. It's fine. They're fine. Right?"

The girl's lack of response did little to calm Flare's nerves.

"Ok. We need to find them. They must have gone into the forest, right? So...we just need to look. They couldn't have gone far. Ok?"

The girl didn't acknowledge Flare's ramblings, but she started off into the forest regardless. Accepting this as a yes, Flare followed her. His mind was racing. What had happened to his partner? Had he followed the girl's Pansear on a short walk? Had they been snatched by Pokemon thieves? Had they simply gotten lost? Flare's mind burned with questions. In his distracted state, he failed to notice that the girl has stopped, and he kept walking. He only returned to reality after he felt something crash into his leg.

"Ow! What the hell was that?" Flare shouted, holding his leg.

He glanced down, seeing a small, light brown pup. A Lillipup, a common sight in the area. Flare looked around, noting another few Lillipup in the small clearing he found himself in, as well as his partner, along with the girl's Pansear, being watched by a smaller group of Lillipup.

Behind him, the girl shouted, "You idiot! Why didn't you stop when I said something?"

Flare noted that the girl had traces of an accent when she shouted. Brushing that aside, Flare responded, "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention. It's fine though. We found them, and we can take a few Lillipup down."

The girl sighed, "I'm glad you're confident, but have you stopped to think about way these Lillipup are together?"

Flare thought briefly, before he realized what she meant.

"Oh, these are part of a family, aren't they?"

Before the girl could respond, two more light brown dogs, with dark blue fur on their torso, emerged from the forest, growling at Flare and the pokemon. Flare backed away from the main group of Lillipup, joining the girl at the edge of the clearing. Hunter and the Pansear huddled at the opposite end of the clearing, surrounded by the Lillipup. The Herdier joined the group facing Flare, standing in front of their children.

"So, you got us into this, so what's your plan to get us out?"

"Well, Hunter and your Pansear can take those Lillipup, assuming the rain doesn't start again. That just leaves the Herdier, and my other Pokemon can't take on two of them."

"Don't worry, I have another Pokemon as well. She hasn't seen much action though."

"Well, no better training than a fight like this, right?"

The girl let out a small laugh before reaching for a Poke Ball on her belt. Flare did the same, grabbing Tepig's Poke Ball. Flare glanced at the group of Lillipup surrounding his partner. He counted at least seven of the small dogs, a manageable number.

"Hunter, work with Pansear to take out the Lillipup. Just try not to show him up too much, alright?"

Flare took his partner's jubilant cry as a yes. Flare couldn't help but share his partner's excitement. This would not only be a chance to train, but it would be his first real battle.

"Zayila, come on out!"

Flare watched as a small, grey bird appeared between the girl and one of the Herdier. A Pidove, likely caught recently.

"Not quite what I expected her to have, but I suppose I can't judge," Flare said, tossing Tepig's ball from his hand, with his starter pokemon materializing quickly.

Tepig seemed confused, likely due to having never left his Poke Ball, but he quickly took a fighting stance after seeing his opponent. He glanced towards Flare, waiting for the order to attack. Across the clearing, Hunter stood back-to-back with Pansear, ready to strike. The girl's Pidove, apparently named Zayila, spread its wings, preparing a Gust attack. All of the Lillipup watched their parent Herdier closely, watching for a signal. Suddenly, as though a switch had been flipped, the battle broke out.

Flare could tell this was going to be fun.