With a hearty grin, Sulphur moved to the story teller's log, a bounce to his steps as he walked over. He was rather jolly for a Charizard, without any of the arrogance some may stereotype his species with. Some might call him innocent looking, even. But Sulphur wasn't all that met the eye, something he was all too keen to show today.

"Ahem!" The Charizard cleared his throat. "It's been an exciting evening so far! Really, good job everyone, you're all masterful storytellers in your own right. As for me… I wanted to bring something different to the table today. I've been around for a while now, lived through all sorts of craziness already. But my biggest inspiration tends to come from the smallest of places," he explained, his voice deep with happy underpinnings. "And you know what? That's the exact kind of story I'll be telling you. About someone overcoming their most primal fears."

Sulphur's Tale: Paragon Unknown

"Once upon a time, I was just picking my kid up from school," the Charizard said, then chuckled. "Like I said, it's a smaller story. Anyway, I've always been somewhat of an anomaly where I live. Most Charizard generally prefer mountains over lush forests, but I'm not most Charizard. Lived in the woods all my life, and I've always loved it there."

Sulphur straightened out his scarf, and looked up at the sky. "But before I get too caught up in myself, the important thing to know is that there's a lot of grass and bug types living there. Definitely not everyone, but still. You can imagine that resulted in a few odd and scared looks. Big dragon, breathes fire, flies around… you can imagine how that goes in a quiet town like that."

The Charizard chuckled. "But hey, that's just the first impression. Usually that goes away after talking for thirty seconds… but, that's not everyone." He took in a deep breath.

"And that brings me back to that one day, where I was picking my kid up from school. I happened to be blocking the path a bit. Had to get near me just to get off the grounds. And that got me into contact with a little Sewaddle boy. His name was Scy. How did we meet?"

He stuck his tongue in his cheek for a split second. "While I was waiting for my kid, I suddenly heard whimpers coming from inside a bush. Loud, terrified whimpering. My head snapped towards the sound, because that's not right. I'm a dad, I can't just let anyone be scared like that!"

Sulphur laughed, the flame on his tail tip crackling excitedly. "Wasn't hard to see him hide in there. Well, I tried getting closer, and… he ran off. Screaming." His wings closed. "At the time I didn't get why. And from that day on, I couldn't help but notice that poor kid hiding from me. In bushes, behind trees, covering himself with leaves. He always cried when I got near. Always. And…"

He shook his draconic head, his feet scratching a pattern into the dirt. "It hurt. It really did. He was terrified, and so was his mom whenever she came to pick him up. She always tried to hide him from me, like I wanted to eat him. And…" He brushed something out of his eye with a talon. "I never wanted to be seen that way. Never wanted them to suffer because of me," he said, the growl having faded from his voice.

"So… how did it all change? Well, one day, I was out on a stroll through town. Just by myself, enjoying the fresh air and the like. And then it happened. Another whimper from Scy… except this time, it came from above! Right over my head… there he was, stuck on the end of a tall tree branch. And that's when my instincts kicked in. Instantly I held my claws up, and called out to him."

'Hey! Don't worry, I've got your back!'

"Unfortunately, it didn't turn out the way I hoped. I could feel his heart sink the moment he realized I was under him. And… well, nature's cruel. Gravity, in this case. He lost his balance, and slipped right off the branch."

"'N-no! Stay away!' Scy shouted at me before slipping. He cried out as he fell, terrified of what was about to happen. Fall into my claws? That was the worst thing imaginable in his book at the time, and well. That's what happened. To me, it was helping someone in need. Even if they didn't want it."

Sulphur sighed out in relief. "So I caught him, and he cried, tried to break loose. 'It's okay! It's okay!' I told him, even as he curled into a tiny ball of leaves. Like a little Wurmple trying to hide from the birds. I could feel him shiver in my claws. Cold despite the warmth around, scared beyond belief. It was dreadful, it truly was."

The Charizard brought a claw to his belly. "Words weren't going to help here. So I ended up holding him against my belly, carefully stroking him with the back of my claws. Didn't want to get the sharp ends anywhere near him. And… slowly, it worked. The shivering stopped. I continued for a while, bringing my wings over him, crooning softly. And… eventually he managed to look up, away from my chest. His eyes were still watery, but he was willing to look at me.

'S-sir…? Th-thank you…'

I smiled at Scy, careful to keep my teeth hidden still. 'No need for thanks, are you alright?'

'Yeah…' he said. 'I… you, why did you…?'

'That's what Pokemon do for one another, isn't it?' I told him, adding a little wink at the end. He needed to know it was all okay. And well, once that was clear enough, and he was somewhat comfortable being all cozy in my claws, what he said next was very revealing."

Sulphur licked his lips. "'T-to be honest,' 'I thought you were going to hurt me. Eat me, even. You… y-you… didn't, I'm… I'm sorry for thinking that.', is what he said. The nerves were slowly dissipating from his voice, but… I guess I stole them somehow, because that… that kind of frightened me. You don't just get accused of these things every day, to put it mildly," he explained.

"'It's okay,' I told him. 'I… I can handle it. Any adult can.'" Sulphur breathed in deep. "That's what I told him. But, well, it was complicated. And I had to know more. Why did he see me in that light? That's what I had to know, and this was my chance. And well, this is what he had to say."

"'M-my mom's always told me to stay away from fire types. And flying types. And you, well… you're both. And, well, at first I didn't really agree with her… but then we… got our new neighbors. And they have this Fletchinder with them and, well… '"

Another sigh came from Sulphur. "He struggled to put into words what exactly had been going down between him and his new neighbors. It was difficult for him to even think about. Moved to tears by just thoughts alone. And once he told me, well. Imagine the prettiest field you can think of. Then, imagine the day after the apocalypse. Nothing but ash. That's what happened between him and that Fletchinder. Almost immediately, he became a target. Pecked at, singed with embers, notebooks set on fire, harassed… couldn't fight back at all, either. And oh he tried. He desperately tried. All it got him was a week long stay at the village healer with horrible injuries. He swooped Scy right off the ground, then sent him tumbling down a hill."

Sulphur shook his head. "You'd think there'd be consequences, but you would be gravely mistaken. When push came to shove, people didn't have evidence that's how it went down. One kid's word against the other. Who knows what happened? And well."

The Charizard looked up at the sky, longing for something. "That whole family was unknowingly raising a thug of the worst kind. Whenever Mom tried to help little Scy, their house was mysteriously vandalized. Vague threats came onto her door. And that's when I learned something truly heinous."

A low growl stirred in Sulphur's throat. "They implied I was behind it. We didn't know each other all that well… and I guess it was easy to believe we'd be in cahoots. Fire types sticking together, that sort of thing. It was an absolute outrage, I tell you! I'd have knocked on their door myself to teach those overgrown Pidgeys a lesson. But you know what? I wasn't going to teach them a lesson, no."

A smirk formed on the Charizard's snout. "I was taking 'em back to school. Right there and then… I proposed something to Scy."

"'Hey… if you want to, I can turn you into someone they wouldn't dare to cross.'"

"'What do you mean?' Scy asked. He was giving me this real innocent, confused look while saying it. Kid didn't want to hurt a Sunkern if he could, hah. It's admirable, but hey. Sometimes life won't leave the innocent alone, and it's then where people like me come in."

Sulphur gave the audience a toothy grin, holding one claw up like it was a thumb while winking at everyone.

"Of course, training is what I meant. And not heavy combat training, or anything of the sort. I wanted to help him stand up for himself. Show him there's another way this could end. A better future for himself and his mom, which they deserved." The Charizard shook his head. "At first, he was reluctant. Very reluctant. In fact, he tried to crawl out of my claws when I pitched the idea.

'N-no, Sulphur sir. It, it wouldn't-'

'Believe in me. You've heard a thing or two about me, haven't you? From other people, maybe? Your mom might be nervous about me, but you can trust me.'

'I-I'm not a fighter! Not like you. You're, you're extremely strong and…'

This was the moment where I held my head in front of Scy. His eyes were about even with mine, slightly above… the wind picked up at this time, too, and the scent of leaves coming off Scy was blown right away. The leafy clothes his mom made for him fluttered in the wind, like he was wearing a cape," Sulphur explained. "It all… made what I was about to tell him click into place.

'You know, you remind me an awful lot of myself when I was your age.'"

Sulphur chuckled. "Oh, he struggled to accept that one. 'No! You've always had it in you, haven't you? That's a Charizard thing.'"

"I shook my head at that. 'Scy, there is no such thing as a Charizard thing. We're all more than our species. Deep down… anything is possible if we want to reach it. What do you say?'

'I…' He squirmed a bit, but you know what they say about love and care. You can't ignore it for long when it's coming your way," Sulphur said. "Just like I finally grew to accept myself because of it… Scy did so too. 'I… I believe you,' he said."

Sulphur sat upright on the log, and spread his wings wide open as he tightened the scarf around his neck.

"And that's when we began a long, hard road together. Scy agreed to meet up with me in secret, away from his mom. He said it was an extracurricular activity, hah. Ain't no growing up without a little mischief. But yes. We met up in the forest. I did my research into what Sewaddle were capable of. You'd be surprised! I sure was, and I was optimistic about what we were going to do. I helped him figure out some basic attacks, how to get the most agility out of his little body, gave him a decent amount of exercise… you know the drill."

"But the biggest of all was learning String Shot. It's very underestimated even by seasoned fighters. But not only can it be used to slow someone down, using the thread effectively meant he could dodge attacks, too."

Sulphur leaned forward on the log, a fire burning in his eyes. "And we put that to the test! Chased him around a bit with soft Embers. Not a stain of soot on him! Of course I wasn't really going to burn him. That would've gotten a mob running after me with pitchforks. And pincers, haha!" the dragon laughed away, then cleared his throat with a loud harrumph.

"It was a slow process. Took many weeks to get right. Poor Scy struggled with the training. He had his limits, too.

'Sulphur, sir', he'd say. 'I can't do this… it's hopeless.'

'Don't give up!' I'd tell him, all jovial and excited. 'I believe in you!'

'No, it's… I can't get this right, and… I'm scared you're gonna burn me. It… it's terrifying. Mom would be heartbroken to see me burnt.'

'Hey…' I reached down and offered Scy a claw. 'It's okay. If you want to take a break, we can.'

Scy looked at me with wide bug eyes. 'Sir… it's too much.'"

Sulphur's wings had folded back into their resting positions, his tail laid out straight behind him. "Training ain't easy," he said while tapping his foot in a rhythm. "I mostly went with what I knew, but I'm not going to lie and say I had all the best tricks in the book. It was as much of a learning experience for me as it was for Scy. Whenever things didn't quite work out, we were both disappointed. I not in him, only myself. His failures were my failures as a teacher."

The dragon looked at the ground by his feet. "Despite all my experience, it still hurt. Seeing that you're not as strong as you think you are. But… no matter how bitter an herb it is to swallow, I didn't give up. I just had to come with a new approach.

'Hey… then I won't do it anymore, okay? This is about you, at the end of the day. Right?'

Scy nodded to that. 'Yeah. Yeah it is.'

'Will you continue to try?' I said. He nodded slowly.

'I will.'"

Sulphur reached for a stick laying nearby, then set it on fire with a single tuft of fire from his jaws. "Getting stronger is a long journey… but a rewarding one. And the results spoke for themselves. Went from a scrawny little kid, to someone who'd learned just how powerful he was. From being unable to control his own leaves… to BAM!"

He swung the stick into the ground, shattering it into three pieces. "Shredding sticks with Razor Leaf. Able to etch his name into a tree if he wanted to. Used those little bug teeth for what they're worth! They pack a nasty punch, you know," he explained, the tip of his tail twitching back and forth.

"Scy's time to shine was coming fast after a few weeks of heavy lifting," Sulphur continued while looking into the campfire. "Was he nervous? You bet. Why wouldn't he be? That Fletchinder was his worst nightmare. Literally, he had a hard time sleeping. That's how worried he was about whatever stunt that little scamp was pulling next. He'd already tried setting Scy's house on fire, what if he tried again while they slept? And succeeded?"

Sulphur shook his head. "Nevertheless, we pressed on. We set up a date where Scy would confront that Fletchinder. A time, a place… we had it all down flat. If everything worked out, we'd be golden. If it didn't though…" the dragon laughed and pitched his head up. "Not to brag, but I'm a big guy. Not many people would pick a fight with me! And the few that do? Ended up regretting it quickly."

He held up a claw beside his head, letting the sharpness of his talons speak for itself.

"So the day came, and beforehand… Scy and I met up. Didn't have the most excited look on his face, though. I asked him how he was feeling, see if everything was alright with him.

'Nervous,' he said. 'What if this doesn't work out?'

'Well, I'll be there if it doesn't!' I reassured him. But he wasn't too impressed by that.

'Th-this… I don't know what to say. It could go either way.'

I gave him a firm nod. 'Believe in yourself. Everything will end up alright, if you just believe you can do it.'

'What… if mom finds out? After we lose?'

'I'll be prepared to take the blame even then. But if you succeed… she'll be proud of you, Scy. Don't be afraid. Promise?'

'P-promise,' he said." Sulphur breathed in deep. "Aah, that shy bravery. Could feel it emanating off him. Most kids seem to have it, myself when I was younger, very much included, hah!"

The Charizard clutched his blue scarf by the end reaching his chest, then his eyes panned over his audience. The crackle of the campfire was stirring nicely, as if it had a mind of its own and was enjoying the story as well.

"Showtime. That Fletchinder came down the road, flying all by himself. Scy was there, waiting for him. Oh the cocky look on that Fletchinder's face, I'll never forget it," Sulphur said, wings unfurling a little.

"'What's up, nerd. Out of the way.'

Scy steadied himself. 'Not so fast. I'm not moving without an apology.'

'Apology?' The Fletchinder chirped in what was clearly a mocking tone. The kind that made you wanna pluck his feathers. 'Pfft, to you? What's the matter, can't handle a little banter?'

'You tried to set my house on fire. Pecked me. Trashed my lunch and threw mud at me. You're a horrible Pokemon. And… I… am giving you a chance! To be better!' Scy shouted at him."

"We rehearsed what he'd say a few times, and didn't get the words quite right. The energy was there, though. I could feel it even while hiding!'" Sulphur explained. "Fletchinder still acted like everything was all cool, though.

'Hahaha! You're a joke, you know that, right? Wimpy, weak, what's a little cuddlebug like you gonna do about it, huh? Nothing, that's what! I can steal your lunch all day and you wouldn't do anything about it. I'll have the entire school laughing at you and there ain't anything you can do about it! Now, get outta the way, or I'll make it happen even sooner.'"

Sulphur spat beside himself. "That's what drivel came out of his mouth. But this time, Scy wasn't gonna budge. Not a damn chance. 'Make me!' he shouted. Oh, that little vulture didn't like that one bit! Swooped right at him with both claws. Scy was quick on his little legs, latching onto a bush with String Shot, then zipped right out the way! Boom!" He clasped his claws together with stunning force. "Just like that!"

"And so it started. Fletchinder went in for round two, once again with both of those talons. But Scy was quicker! Zipped right out the way, then shot a Razor Leaf at him. Soared right through the sky like I do! And bam! That Fletchinder barely knew what hit him. Thrice! Yup, three separate leaves, right in the chest!" Sulphur patted his own chest three times for emphasis.

"Of course, didn't produce much more than a little oomph in the chest, with the type and all. Fletchinder sure shrieked because of it, though! 'Grr! How dare you!' he shouted. Sure wasn't as cocky now. He furiously beat his wings to whip up a whirlwind. From a distance, it looked like his wings were gonna fall off his body with how furious a storm they were whipping up. Buuut…"

Sulphur clicked his tongue and winked at the audience, his own wings opening wide for a second.

"Guess what? I can do it better. We practiced this too, and Scy drilled it into his head. He attached himself onto the branch of a tree, then clung on for dear life as the wind cut past him. Didn't hurt, fortunately, but it was wearing on him…" The Charizard grinned. "Then the trap shut. You see, Fletchinder stopped and swooped in. Again! But Scy swung right back at him, detached from the string, then bit him right on the face!"

"'OOOOW!' the Fletchinder shrieked. 'OOOOOOW!' Scy got him real good. But with him up close like that, Fletchinder was in the position to hit back. And he did, swiftly pecking at Scy. Both struggled, but…" Sulphur shrugged. "Well, the unfortunate happened. One Peck scraped Scy's skin, and you got to remember his type. Heard the poor kid squeal.

The dragon then stomped his feet on the ground. "This all looked dire, and I was ready to jump in if need be. But then Scy's teeth suddenly turned black with a black glow. I knew immediately what it was. Payback! And he sure made Fletchinder pay back. Teeth went right through his wing. I could barely believe what I was seeing!"

He cleared his throat. "They both fell to the ground, Scy on top. He hopped off, and Fletchinder limped away, panting. I didn't even know birds panted, but he sure did.

'Alright, stop, stop…' Fletchinder said. 'STOP!' Scy was still looming over him despite being so small. Crazy how scary situations can be when they're not in your favour, eh?" Sulphur chuckled.

"'Not until you apologise. For everything! I'll nibble on your wing otherwise!'

'Fine! FIIINE! I apologise!' Fletchinder squawked out. Scy wasn't having any of it. Pulled out a Razor Leaf to drive it home.

'No you're not! Say it like you mean it!'

'I, I-' Fletchinder choked out. And when I say choked out, I really mean choked out. Like his entire throat was nothing except smoke. Quite embarrassing for a fire type, no? But nah, that wasn't it. He flat out didn't have any snappy comeback or angry thing to blurt out. No way out but the one he didn't want to use."

Sulphur leaned in closer. "He had to use it, though.

'Look, I'm sorry, okay? I know you never asked for any of it.'

Scy asked the obvious question. 'Then why did you do it?'

'...Because I liked it,' the Fletchinder admitted. No trauma or abuse or any other excuse like that, he was just a jackass, that's all," Sulphur explained with a dismissive flick of his tail.

"Truth to be told, I dunno why anyone would harass and bully someone as badly as that Fletchinder did in the first place. What I did know is that I wanted it to stop, and well, it did. Sure, Fletchinder tried some smaller things at first, but Scy knew how to get back at him now. And if he ever targeted anyone else, well. My experience here was no doubt gonna be useful, hah."

The Charizard snorted. "But I'm getting ahead of myself here. Once Fletchinder had limped off, I broke my cover to congratulate Scy. Was he elated? You bet!

'It's done!' he said. 'I won!'

'Darn straight you did!'"

"Scy looked me in the eye. Let me tell you, he had a glint in there that made me think he wanted to take me on, hah! But he had quite the opposite in mind. 'Thanks so much… thought I'd never be able to stop him. I owe you one.'"

"I raised a claw. 'He's not going to bother you so quickly now, that's for sure!' was what I told him. Scy himself wasn't so sure, but hey. Nothing some extra training and putting your foot down wouldn't solve. And that kind of optimism generally does wonders in life," Sulphur explained. "From this moment on, Scy would only grow stronger and sturdier, someone who's ready to help out others just like I helped him. No more being afraid of fire and flying types. His mom was proud, his friends were proud, everything turned out better for him. And that's all the reward I ever needed. "

Sulphur sighed. "If you're wondering about Fletchinder… well. He's doing okay. And he's generally learned his lesson from this. Not entirely, there's still some mischief in him, but nothing anywhere close to trying to burn houses down. Nor making people's lives into hell. I truly do wish the best for him, too. Really."

He snapped his claws. "And that's my story. My hope is that you all understood something big here. That no matter how bad the odds are, or how dark the times might be… you can always fight to see the dawn. To overcome those odds, and rise above the challenge."

Then, the dragon cleared his throat for the final time. "Now, before I end things off, there's one last thing I wanted to mention. You see, after the fight ended, and Scy and I were all alone, I took him back to a training field. There's still one last thing I wanted to teach him. How to celebrate a victory. And instead of telling you how, I'll show you exactly how. It went a little something like this!"

Out of the blue, the dragon threw his head back, and bellowed out a thunderous roar that shook the nearby trees. So empowering was it that even the campfire joined in. The flame on his tail flared right up, continuing well after the roar fizzled out.

In the end, Sulphur got up with a dumb grin on his snout.

"Thank you, everyone!"