"Admit it, Patch, I'll bet you were scared of them.
"Nuh-uh! They were the ones who were afraid after I was through with them!" boasted the aptly-named pachirisu, who was currently hanging upside-down from a tree branch and setting his friend straight. "You should have seen me! I wasn't scared at all. In fact, I never get scared."
"I guess you're just lucky they didn't eat you," smirked Molly, an oddish who was reclining against the tree, absent-mindedly listening to her friend's exaggerations while studying the strange blue flower protruding from the tall grass. Patch stuck his tongue out at her.
"Are you kidding? Fearows are no match for me!" he asserted confidently. Molly plucked another petal from the flower, which she deemed sufficiently edible, and began to chew it between her teeth.
"Who exactly are you trying to convince?" she questioned flatly, swallowing the remains of the surprisingly-lemony plant. "Last time I checked, you were hiding from pidgeys."
Patch's cheeks flushed hotly.
"H-hey, I was just being stealthy! I strategically—"
His excuse was interrupted by a loud blast from deep within the woods. Patch instinctively scampered further up his tree while Molly turned and looked curiously towards the source of the noise, expecting flames or smoke to rise above the tree-line. However, the sky remained clear and the forest was silenced for several minutes. Patch apprehensively shimmied down the tree and plopped next to Molly as Gwen, a marill from the village, worriedly approached the two.
"What was that?"
"No idea," responded Molly. Gwen bit her lip and glared nervously into the forest. "And before you ask, I'm not interested in finding out what it was either," Molly added coldly.
"Do you realize that Flux was in there?" snapped Gwen.
Patch's eyes widened in fear and realization and he stood quickly and looked with panic between the two girls.
"We have to find him and make sure he's okay," he pleaded urgently. Molly sighed and Gwen nodded in assent, and with that, the party of three stood and entered the forest to begin their search.
As they walked, Patch noticed Molly stealing glances at him and grinning slyly.
"What are you smiling at?" he challenged.
"Oh, nothing at all," she giggled to herself, looking back to the forest path ahead of them.
"C'mon, what's so funny?" he whined.
Molly settled back into a smile.
"You were scared back there," she responded gaily. "I was told that you never get scared."
Life was Hell, but it was nothing the vulpix wasn't accustomed to. The patter of raindrops against the drainpipe was a peaceful reprieve from the gunshots and cries that usually populated the streets around the otherwise abandoned warehouse she called her home. She stretched and inhaled the cocktail of subtle petrichor and sharp stenches from the city. The aroma was far from pleasant, but at least it was familiar.
In a single, practiced movement, the fire type leapt up and climbed over the rafters of the building. She sauntered delicately towards a broken window and peered above into the pale midday sky. The faint purple fringes of the clouds served as the only splash of color for the otherwise unsaturated city. She supposed it was the only sign of nature they hadn't figured out how to kill yet. Her attention shifted towards the horizon, to the darkened form of an absol perched on a tall rooftop, glaring into the city ominously.
"Never a good sign..." she muttered to herself.
Just below, one of the top windows of the building was forced open, revealing four tapered purple fingers from behind the grey curtains. The absol observed nonchalantly for a moment before leaping into the shadows of another building. A sableye climbed out of the window and hurriedly dropped its backpack onto the fire escape before following suit himself. He brought the worn, blue pack to his shoulder and deftly slipped through the railings and around the building, presumably following the absol.
The vulpix dropped to the ground of the warehouse and prowled towards the entrance.
"It's the Shade," she determined. "Although they've been far more active lately than usual."
She slipped into her belt, which held her switchblade. Although she was more than capable of fighting for herself as a pokémon, the small weapon helped to even the playing field against some of the more powerful "advantages" that had found their way into thugs' arsenals lately. She sighed and darted outside into the rain to begin her daily search for food.
"I just hope I'm out of here by the time they finish whatever they're planning."