I snarled and let loose a Flamethrower. This allowed me to get back on my feet, and pushed him back a bit.

"Hey, no fair, I won!!" he said, surprised, coughing in the sudden smoke.

"You never hold a female down like that," I growled, suddenly filled with rage, though it was not uncontrollable.

"Oh, I get it," he said, suddenly smug. He advanced, and I backed off, ready to attack. "Why do you think I came here in the first place?" I snarled, but he just laughed. "For a battle like that, that's what!!" This surprised me, as I was sure he was about to admit he was here for the season, for instincts.

I growled, carefully examining the situation. He had won. I had lost, though I hadn't admitted losing. Normally, if I was fighting a female, I would have lost my territory. It could be the same with this one… unless he chose to share…

I'll never let myself be taken in like that, I told myself.

He came over to me, friendly, offering a claw. "I don't want to take your territory," he said, calmly enough.

I wrenched away. "You can keep it," I snarled. "I know what it means if territory is shared."

"What are you talking about?" he demanded, and I looked into his eyes and saw he really had absolutely no idea. I also saw something I didn't want to see. I looked down, horrified to feel myself blushing.

"Nothing, nothing whatsoever," I said, turning to go.

I felt a claw on my shoulder. "You really don't have to go," he insisted, looking at me with a sudden intensity that frightened me.

I wrenched away again. "No!!" I shouted, surprised to find myself so desperate to get away from here. From him. "You won it fair and square!! I'll just go find a new piece of land; I'm sure I can win against them, even if I can't win against someone of my own kind." I was embarrassed to find a tear rolling down my face. Luckily I wasn't facing him. Was I really so weak that I couldn't best another Blaziken??

He grabbed my shoulder, turning me around. "I must insist. You at least can get a night's rest before you leave – what's wrong?"

I burst out, "I'm a weakling!! I can't even beat another of my own kind. I can't beat any real opponents; everyone here is too weak, too used to giving up to live, something my mother installed the practice of while it was hers." I was crying harder than ever.

He pulled me closer, into a hug. "It's nothing like that. I've been specifically trained to be the best; I've never lost a battle in my life. In fact," – here he pulled me to face him –"this battle has been the closest I've ever come to losing. You should be proud."

I pulled him into a hug, surprising even myself, still crying a bit. How can someone so foreign be so comforting??

That night, in a den closer to mountains, I pulled myself onto the hardly-ever-used bed of leaves. They were nice and dry, and made a satisfying crackling sound whenever any pressure was put on them. He was sitting against the southernmost wall, not really looking at me but looking at the scorched, blackened spots on the walls. His eyes moved around, looking at them, and eventually met mine. He asked me, "Why are certain areas all black? You said you've hardly ever been here."

I didn't seem to mind his company so much as I had before. "This is where Mom kept her first clutch. Children flaring up wasn't the rarest thing to happen, and around the age of ten, they commonly got into small fights over little things, or were just trying to level themselves up."

"What happened to them all?" he asked.

"A bunch of human poachers came to raid the territory," I said calmly. It was something I hadn't told many times, but I had gotten over it. "Mom died trying to save them all, and my brothers and sisters and clutch-mates were caught and taken away, far away." I paused, and added, "It's one of the reasons I hate humans so much, and despise tame Pokemon. How can there ever be such a relationship between a human and a Pokemon when the humans can kill and kidnap so easily?"

"My Trainer wasn't like that," he said quietly. "He wouldn't harm a fly, unless it was for training and battle. Even then, he would heal the Pokemon I had defeated afterward. All humans have different personalities, just like all Pokemon do." He shifted uncomfortably. "You speak of 'clutch-mates'. What do you mean?"

"'Clutch-mates' is the term used to identify those born at the same time I was," I clarified. "You know, more than one is born at one time, in one clutch, litter, so on, right? In all Pokemon it's the same. Normal brothers and sisters are those born at an earlier or later time than that particular clutch. However, I was in the first, so none were before me." I sighed heavily. "I wonder what life would be like if those humans hadn't come along."

He said nothing, just stared out at the stars visible from outside the den. Finally he asked, "What happened to your father?"

My eyes filled with tears, and he quickly tried to take it back, but I wouldn't let him. "The reason I wasn't kidnapped as well was because of him. He took me away from them, and taught me to hide in the trees and battle as I do now, in case I might ever need to use it. That's why I attack in cold-blood; why let a human have time to reach for the gun??"

"Did he die recently?" He asked, a bit hesitantly.

"Yes, only a measly five seasons ago, more than one year," I said, leaking tears. I rubbed my eyes on my arm and went outside to stare at the stars.

A short while later, he joined me. "Outside is beautiful at this time of night."

I said nothing, so he added, "As are you."

I flinched. "If you start saying things like that you'll have to leave," I informed him.

"What, can't take a compliment?" he asked gently, wondering why I was so upset all of a sudden.

"In this season," I began, careful of what to say, "males are always coming after me. Every 'compliment' could be interpreted as an invite. I prefer to leave such alone. I feel pressured, and I hate feeling pressured."

"Oh." He finally got it, and blushed. I looked questioningly at him. "Nothing, it's just that I didn't know why you were so uncomfortable. 'Tame' Pokemon know nothing of this. I – I didn't mean –"

"It's okay," I said, cutting him off, surprising even myself, yet again. "I mean, so long as – well, you get it."

"Yeah, I guess." He looked uncomfortable, and asked, "Would you rather I slept somewhere else for the night?"

I laughed, surprising myself for a third time in one day. "I don't really care. Hey, you never told me your name."

"It's Ziken," he said, finally able to answer something comfortably. "What's yours?"

"Blazer." I went back inside, feeling a bit cold, and he followed soon after.