How dare Flare humiliate me like that in front of everyone?, thought Scorch as he followed an unfamiliar path. Ember deserves better than that Blaze Pokémon. He's not even a fire-type!
It was sufficient to say Scorch was mad. Furious, even. It had been about two hours since he left his clan behind, not exactly sure if he was just walking or leaving the clan for good. Suddenly, there was a rustling in the bushes beside Scorch, causing him to stop abruptly and turn towards the bushes, flames already dancing in his mouth, ready to use Flamethrower.
What jumped out of the bush surprised him. It wasn't a predator or prey. It was… a growlithe? The growlithe walked around Scorch, sniffing occasionally but not saying a single word.
"Can I help you?" asked Scorch. Some Pokémon can be so annoying when it comes to talking to…
"Hmm… maybe you can," said the Growlithe. "Have you seen a Shinx around these parts lately?"
Scorch narrowed his eyes at the Growlithe. Blaze had mentioned a clan of Luxray nearby, so it was possible to be a different Shinx. But it was highly unlikely, as it hadn't been long since Blaze had left, and he couldn't have gotten far.
"I have actually. Why?" replied Scorch calmly. He had to keep his cool around this Pokémon if he wanted answers, which was something he wasn't too good at doing.
"Well, this Shinx I met was battling random Pokémon, such as Caterpie and Weedle. I noticed a Vulpix with him, and she looked a bit young to be out on her own. I thought I should find a Ninetales, since I knew a clan was around here, and tell them," said the Growlithe.
Scorch showed no reaction, though his thoughts were churning in his head. This Growlithe was obviously lying about thinking for the best of Ember and trying to find a Ninetales, but why?
Scorch smirked. "I think we can work something out."
"Why?" asked Ember. I fidgeted around a bit before looking her to answer.
"I just think it's the best place for me to find out why I couldn't evolve." I answered. It had been about 5 days since I had left Flare's clan, and I had gotten a lot stronger! I've been battling weak Pokémon to strengthen up. Since then, I've learned Spark, Quick Attack, and Bite! I'm still weak compared to some of the Pokémon around these parts, but I can defend from those Beedrill now.
"So your brilliant idea is to go to a human village?" said Ember. Oh yea… I've decided we should start heading to this place I heard from some Pidgey. Apparently humans gather in large masses like our clans, but on a much bigger scale, like the villages in Kanto you hear rumors of.
"Unless you have a better idea? The Pokémon around here who have been there seem to know more than any forest one." I pointed out. Ember sighed, seeing she had lost.
"Fine. But we'll have to be careful, there's bound to be Trainers there, and I'm sure they'd all be dying to catch a rare Shinx, or so says that Murkrow back there."
"I know."
I'm a bit worried, to be honest. While I was battling a Weedle the day I left, I noticed a Growlithe in the bushes nearby. He had a look of disgust on, but I don't think he saw me looking. I still haven't told Ember. I don't want to scare her.
The Growlithe had a Pidgey in his mouth, so he was obviously hunting. I don't know if he belongs to a clan around here, but if he doesn't, I'm willing to bet he'll be coming after me. Why do I have so many enemies? Is it because I'm an electric type in a fire-type forest?
"Are you ok?" asked Ember with a worried look on her face. I smiled at her and didn't reply. I'm grateful she came with me. I had been gone maybe 30 minutes from the clan when she came running after me, telling me her mother thought she should come with me for the experience. If she wasn't with me, I probably would've given up making my way through the forest a few days ago. The Pokémon in this area are so hostile!
We kept walking in silence when I had a feeling of being watched. I twitched my tail to warn Ember, a signal we developed after we were ambushed by a Houndour yesterday. I've had this feeling often the farther I got from my clan's area, so I wasn't too worried. But this feeling was more sinister.
We were still walking about an hour later, and the feeling hadn't vanished. I could see Ember had started to let her guard down, and decided I might as well lower mine too. If the feeling was hostile, we would've been attacked by now. It was probably just a Pokémon whose territory we're in waiting to see if we had any intention of staying.
Not a heartbeat longer than when I had let my guard down had a stream of fire came from my left directly at me. Ember was the first to react, jumping into the stream of fire, protecting me from the fire. The first time she had done this, I had panicked and ran to her, only to discover her unharmed. She had told me it was an ability all Vulpix had called Flash Fire, similar to Lightning Rod for electric-types.
When the fire had faded, the Growlithe from a few days ago was standing behind the source.
"What do you want?" I growled at him. He merely smirked and sat down, causing some confusion. Just a second ago he was attacking. Now he's sitting down casually, as if nothing had happened, I thought.
"Oh, it's not what I want," he said. I saw him glance behind me for half a second, and knew what was coming before I could force my body to react. A paw slammed down on my neck, pinning me to the ground. I looked at Ember, and she was frozen in shock.
"It's what I want," said a voice coming from the Pokémon pinning me down. I struggled to catch a glimpse of the Pokémon, and saw the Ninetales giving me those looks while I was at Flare's clan. He had a sinister grin on his face.
"S-scorch?" whispered Ember. So that's his name.
"Well, now that we're all acquainted with each other, why don't we all sit down and have some tea?" I said weakly, using a line I heard that Murkrow use when we met. Scorch was openly confused, but I saw Growlithe grin.
"Oh, we've got a smartass, do we?" said Growlithe. He walked towards me with flames in his mouth. Oh, shit…
"Back down, Blaise," commanded Scorch. Huh, funny. We have almost the same name, though the distinct "Z" sound was missing from his. "He's mine."
"I thought you wanted the Vulpix? Well, if you swing that way, I'm not gonna say anything," said Blaise, failing to hide a smirk. Scorch apparently didn't find it as funny, as his pressure increased on my neck.
"You know what I meant. Be careful what you say, or I might just forget which 'Blaze' I'm after," said Scorch threateningly. Blaise backed down.
"And just why are you after me?" I asked.
"Because Ember is mine!" he snarled. Ok, now I'm thoroughly confused…
"What do you mean? She came with me of her own accord…"
"You really are clueless, aren't you?"
"At this particular moment, yea."
Scorch gestured over to the still frozen vixen. Oops, I'd almost forgotten she was there.
"Aren't you the thickheaded one?" said Scorch. "Isn't it obvious she's fallen for you?"
…
Ok, maybe I should've noticed. It would explain why she came after me. I didn't fully believe that Flare made her come, it didn't seem like something she would do.
"What does that have to do with you?" I asked.
"Because she's going to be my mate, not yours!" he snarled into my ear. This seemed to snap Ember out of her stupor.
"In your dreams!" Ember hissed. She began to charge at Scorch when Blaise pinned her the same way I was pinned.
"You won't have another choice once I finish off this one!" he smirked. He lowered his head towards me, flames in his mouth. I felt the heat as he prepared a Flamethrower.
Suddenly there was a roar nearby, causing Scorch to stop.
"What was that?" asked Scorch, looking around. I noticed his grip lighten.
I surrounded myself in sparks, causing him to let go in pain.
"You little brat!" he screamed in pain as I dove towards Blaise, still covered in sparks. As I hit Blaise with a Spark, he let go and Ember jumped up and stood next to me.
Scorch started towards me when suddenly a shadow covered his path. We all looked towards the source, and saw a mystical Pokémon.
"The protector of the forest," I gasped, barely audible enough for Ember to hear. On the hill ahead of us was a large dog Pokémon. He had a powerful aura about him, and the pressure from his presence was almost enough to cripple me.
"Who are you?!" cried Scorch, upset that this intruder had interrupted him as he was so close to victory.
"I'm everything you know," said the new visitor. Wait… That doesn't sound like the rumors made him out to be. It sounded… almost juvenile, like an adolescent Pokémon. Scorch threw out a Flamethrower, but it bounced off of the Pokémon harmlessly. The Pokémon sent out his own Flamethrower, powerful enough to feel the heat 20 feet away from Scorch. When the flames faded, Scorch was too weak to stand, and Blaise ran off in fright.
"What are you?" asked Scorch in fright. The Pokémon got in Scorch's face and said something I've yet to understand.
"I'm the burning in your throat when you swallow," he said. Scorch fainted, and I'm uncertain if it was the burn inflicted on him or from fright. He's lucky he didn't die.
Before I could say anything to the Pokémon, he rushed away from us. I managed to chase after him for about 30 feet, just enough to keep him in sight. As he ran way, I saw him grow from his menacing height to slightly larger than me. And I recognized the Pokémon he transformed into. The thief of the forest, who gave my clan much trouble last winter, stealing food while disguised as one of us, known simply as Zorua.
That's chapter 3! I uploaded this earlier because I was really pumped for this chapter, and the next few as well. This was one of the more serious chapters, and I apologize, but they're necessary. There's a reference in this chapter as well, and if you can post it in the review, I'll give you a character in the story! (You don't count, Trilby. .)
