Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.

Thanks so much to OceanSpiral for my first review! You have no idea how excited I was when I saw I got at least one review haha. I wasn't even expecting that much, to be honest. I am so glad you like the story, and I hope you enjoy this chapter! For anyone else who is reading this and wants a good fic to read, go check out her stories "Spirited" and "Opposites Attract." They're amazing, to say the least. Anyway, here's the next chapter, and I hope y'all enjoy it! I've changed a few things (age, mainly), but it just felt like the story would flow better if I did. I would love to hear everyone's opinions on it!

Spotlight
Chapter Two: Zeke

"Ow! Ow, ow, ow!"

Instead of answering my question - which was useless anyway because he was a Pokemon - the Houndour decided it would be best to treat my arm like it was a piece of beef jerky. I think he was fond of that idea, at least. He wouldn't let go, the little thing. Even with his ribs poking out and the bumps of his spine visible even underneath the carapace of bone on his back, he wouldn't let go. Even though I was in pain, I had to admire his…tenacity.

"Oh, c'mon! Let go, please!"

The Houndour growled against my flesh. I shook my arm lightly, not wanting to dislodge any of his teeth, but they ended up tearing the wound ragged. I sighed and rushed home, wondering if I could somehow put my father's useless Purugly to use in aiding me in my current…problem.

My arm was absolutely aching by the time I arrived at home. Alec was sitting at the kitchen table, spreading some jelly over toast, and he looked at me quizzically, "Corrine…what - ?"

"Help me! This Houndour has lost his mind!" In response to my statement, he clamped down harder. "Ow! You should have been born a Gabite!"

This seemed to please the Houndour, and I could've sworn I heard him chuckling against my arm.

Alec walked up, and placed his hand on the Houndour's face. He tensed, but then eased up a bit, before cocking his head in the direction of my little brother. Slowly, he let loose his death grip on my arm, and looked at Alec. Unsurprising. My brother had the power to neutralize even the wildest of Pokemon, apparently.

The Houndour glared at me as I moved over to the kitchen and sat him down. He stretched out, gazing up at me every now and then. I could practically see the wheels turning in his head. Still, the prominence of his bones bothered me, so I moved to get the Pokemon food my mother brought.

I got a bowl and poured the food into it. I placed it on the floor in front of the Houndour, and he sniffed experimentally. He wrinkled his muzzle before he took a bite. Apparently, it tasted decent, because he scarfed the rest of it down. I was refilling the bowl before I even had the thought to. I wanted him to eat, wanted him to recover, so he was safe in the wild if he didn't want to be my partner.

Alec bent over and stroked the black dog Pokemon behind his ears. Surprisingly - or maybe not-so-surprisingly - the Houndour didn't bite him.

"Your birthday is tomorrow." Alec looked up at me as the Houndour continued to eat.

I stared at him, "Yeah."

"Have you decided on a starter Pokemon yet?"

I tensed, and the Houndour looked up at me.

"No…"

"I think you and Houndour should be partners."

I coughed, laughing, and Alec just blankly stared at me. The Houndour barked out something that sounded like a snicker. A wicked, evil, plotting little snicker. It was me, for once, that scowled at the doglike Pokemon.

"Looks like we were thinking the same thing." I turned my gaze to my brother and chuckled, ruffling his already mussed hair.

"Have you asked?" Alec asked, his eyes wide and enormous in his thin, youthful face. His scrawny arms waved around at his sides, and he looked eager. Too eager. The kid was nine, after all, and just as excited about Pokemon as I was when I was his age. As I still am, to be frank.

The Houndour barked his answer that sounded vaguely like a yes, and I stared at him. He was snickering, but a hint of confusion flickered in his eyes.

Alec bent down even further (which I had not thought possible) and looked directly into the Houndour's eyes, "Why won't you go with my sister?"

The Houndour looked at him, almost narrowing his eyes as he did so. And here I thought no one could turn down my brother's innate charm. He let out a bark and that caused my brother to stumble over his own feet, falling back on his bottom with a small cry of protest.

I laughed at him, and soon I heard the Houndour's snickers join mine. I looked down at him with nothing short of amusement, and my laughter continued, even if it was slightly hysterical now. I wondered what he was thinking at this moment. It would have been interesting to actually be able to understand what he was saying. But, then again, I probably wouldn't like what I'd hear.

Alec looked at us, calculating something, before finally saying, "You two both have an awful sense of humor."

This just caused another round of laughs, and I felt lighter. The darkness of the previous day was lifting and I felt more like myself ever since I found that Houndour in the forest. I looked down at him and he snorted a plume of smoke out of his nostrils in amusement.

The creaking slide of the glass door that lead out to the backyard was what interrupted our strange reverie. I jolted, looking to see that my mother was pulling off a pair of gardening gloves and wiping the sweat from her forehead.

"Oh, you're back, Corrine. I was beginning to get worried about you."

"Yeah, Ma."

Mom snorted, much like the Houndour from before, and she noted the proximity between us. She seemed to come to the conclusion that my brother had, "You and that Houndour suit each other, in a strange way. And you haven't picked a starter yet. Why don't you - "

"I asked him…I don't really know his answer yet."

Mom smiled at me lightly, "I'm impressed. I've known people to throw a Pokeball as soon as they could in situations like this, and the Pokemon usually wouldn't have a choice."

The Houndour looked at me, cocking his head to the side, and let out a small, "Dour…"

I blinked, realizing that was the first time I'd heard him speak. I felt a smile fall over my face.

"Yeah?"

It seemed he too had thought of what my mother had mentioned - about trainers just automatically catching anything, no matter how reluctant. I mean, I knew that was a big part of catching Pokemon in general, but it just felt wrong to not ask the Houndour if he wanted to join me. The circumstances made me feel odd about it. I didn't want to force something on him just after he had been attacked…

"Houndour-dour."

I looked over to him, and he was staring at me, unperturbed. For a fire type, he certainly was laid back. Either that, or he was certain that he knew what power he held over me at that moment.

I looked at him, seeing the way his ribs poked out beneath the superficial bones that adorned his back. Watched as his stubby little tail wagged back and forth. I inhaled as I watched Mom tell Alec something or another, and the two of them walked outside. I figured they had to do something Pokemon-related, but I wasn't sure why they didn't include me.

I figured I needed to change clothes. My wound had bled onto my shirt in a large spot, so I moved up the stairs.

As soon as I got into my room, I pulled my shirt off and replaced it with a large and baggy t-shirt with a few holes in it that I usually wore when I went to help my parents with the Pokemon.

I turned around, and there was the Houndour.

I shrieked, and he bared his teeth at me, obviously not liking the harsh sound. I felt my face turn red, though I wasn't know why. I was flustered that he had followed me and I hadn't even heard him, but even more flustered that I had gotten topless in front of him. It shouldn't matter, right?

Obviously it didn't to him. He was laying down on the rug I had placed at the foot of my bed. He had his head rested on his paws, and his eyes were trained on me. I stared at him, wondering what he was doing.

"Houndour," he barked.

"Wh-What?" I asked him, tilting my head to the side.

"Dour."

I felt one of my eyebrows raise and I walked over to the bed, sitting down. The Houndour obviously didn't like me towering over him like this, since the bed was so far up, so he stood up himself. I could still see his ribs, I thought in worry.

He nudged his head against my knee, and I looked at him quizzically. Barking once, he nudged at my knee yet again.

Yeah, that made a lot of sense.

"What?"

"Houndour." he said, more decisively.

"Uh," I took a stab in the dark at what he was getting at, "yes, you can have more food?"

He nipped at my ankle, and I felt the scratch that his teeth left. "Hey!"

He rolled his eyes at me and turned around, trudging over to the desk where my bulky computer sat. He plopped down on his haunches and quirked a brow at me. I wasn't sure how big Houndour were supposed to be, but this one looked awfully tiny, I noticed with a small shock. I wondered if it was because he was young or if it was because he was the runt of his litter like Burter.

The Houndour seemed to notice my scrutiny, and he turned his head to the side, huffing. I exhaled a breath I didn't even realize I was holding and got up to cross the room. I grabbed my backpack and set out for the great outdoors. I wasn't sure what my parents had planned for me today, but if it was anything involving milking the Miltank, I wouldn't be too excited, even though I loved Miltank.

I plodded down the stairs, my clumsy feet making themselves known to even our neighbors, I was sure. I slung the strap of the pack over my shoulder as I went and wrenched open the sliding glass door. When I went to close it, I saw that the Houndour had yet again followed me. I wrinkled my nose in thought, the most prominent word in my mind being huh?

I sighed and turned back around. Well, if the Houndour was going to say no to my proposition, then…

"That Houndour seems to like you."

I turned around and found my dad, sitting in the small swing on the patio, Primrose in his lap. I felt my nose wrinkle again this time, but for a whole other reason.

I pointed to the new wound on my arm, scoffed, and said, "If this is what you mean by like, then I'm sure he does."

The Houndour snickered behind me.

"Dark types always seem to have a strange sense of humor."

"Dark?"

Dad nodded, scratching Primrose behind the ears, "Houndour are a dual type - fire and dark."

I blinked. That sounded extremely cool, and I grinned despite myself, despite the fact that I was certain the Houndour wasn't going to be my starter, "Sounds awesome."

I paused for a moment, staring at the Houndour, who was just sitting down and glaring at the Purugly on my father's lap. Well, at least we had something in common.

"Is there anything I need to do today?"

Dad shook his head, "I'm giving you the day off."

"What? Why?" I was puzzled.

"Tomorrow is your birthday, after all. And you need your rest if you and Houndour are going to be up and at it tomorrow."

"Dad, he doesn't want to be my partner."

I felt the teeth sink deep into my bony ankle, and I fought back a curse word. Looking down, I saw that the Houndour was biting me again, and I cringed, though it didn't hurt as bad as the first time.

"I think he does."

I blinked - my brother and my father must have inherited the same uncanny skills with Pokemon, with how naturally they talked about it. Even my mother had the natural ease with which she raised the Pokemon around the place. I must be the odd one out, I decided, the one that had just about as much tact as a Quagsire.

I looked down at the Houndour, and blinked a few times, trying to get my father's words through my thick head. Did the Houndour want to be my partner? Is that why he followed me up to my room and had that awkward encounter with me? I sighed lightly before asking the question that was on my mind.

"Well…do you?"

The Houndour smirked - and that was something I was infinitely amazed by. He gave one light bark before nudging me with his cold, wet nose.

"Your father is always right." Dad chimed in, and Primrose meowed in her usual deep, nasally way.

"I wasn't aware you were being Mom for a day." I remarked, and he glowered gently at me.

"Dour."

I looked down at the Houndour, and smiled, "You want to be my partner?" My current sarcasm-war with my father was forgotten as I felt a lightness in the pit of my stomach. I was happy, and I was sure that registered on my face, "Really?"

The Houndour turned his head to the side and let out a breath, almost like saying, "Duh, you stupid human. I've been trying to make that clear."

Or maybe I was being hard on myself, but it definitely seemed like something the Houndour would say.

I grinned, full out. I was pretty sure I looked like I had lost the last of my marbles, but I just couldn't seem to stop. I had a Pokemon - my first Pokemon. I felt suddenly like I wanted to run, wanted to sprint and jump and laugh and play with the Ponyta that pranced back and forth in their enclosure.

Don't judge.

I launched myself at the Houndour, almost like the first night we met, and wrapped my arms around his little neck. I supposed I just couldn't help but get a bit emotional when it came to Pokemon. What trainer in their right mind wouldn't?

And that's when the Houndour bit me. Again.

Well, maybe he wasn't all the way ready for me to be all touchy-feely with him, but that was okay. Just caught up in the spur of the moment, I supposed.

Dad had told me something, but I wasn't listening. I gazed up at him and he repeated, "You should nickname him."

I nodded, "I had been thinking about that - even before I got my starter." My starter. It thrilled me to be able to say that about the Houndour.

I looked at him, long and hard, and decided to joke, "Princess?"

The Houndour bit me.

"Ow! Joking, joking…" The Houndour growled at me, and I paused before I started thinking. Spike? No, that was too cliché. Bones? Cliché, again. Cerberus? Even more cliché - and evil sounding. I decided to stray away from the typical names associated with darkness and fire and Houndour in general. So I pondered some regular, human names.

I looked at him as a list of boy names ran across my mind. Each one didn't seem to fit him. They were either too generic or too…not him. I was just about to beat my head into the cement of the patio when it came to me. I know I'm speaking as if I'd had some kind of revelation, but hey, I was just about to turn fourteen. Making my own supper was a revelation, let alone naming something permanently.

"Zeke."

The Houndour looked at me, seeming to let this sink in. After blinking a few times, as if to get used to it, he grinned toothily. I was certain that was what Jekyll looked like on one of his angry-happy days, and I shivered.

"Yeah, you're Zeke!" I repeated like a complete moron, happy with the name, happy with my Pokemon, happy with everything.

My father grinned at me and Primrose jumped down from his lap, stretched, and made her way over to us, though I barely noticed.

Zeke barked at me, and I felt the slight heat from his breath. Definitely a fire type, alright. And part dark, too. I had heard somewhere that dark types were notoriously difficult to train, and anyone who mastered them were considered truly great. But that definition sounded so technical to me, inhuman. All I wanted now was to have Zeke's friendship, his trust. I wanted to be his parter, not his dictator, though him listening to me would be quite nice, I concluded guiltily.

I wasn't sure when it happened, but somehow Primrose had ended up beside me and ran her claws almost maliciously down my leg, like I was a scratching post. I immediately screamed and tried to swat her away. She meowed at me, and I clutched my leg as I let "Dammit!" slip from my mouth. Dad looked me and said my name in a very paternal tone. I flushed and murmured an apology.

I moved to scold the cat with more Dad-friendly language, but Zeke was two steps ahead of me.

Before I knew what was happening, he shot out a small little fireball at the catlike Pokemon. The fire landed on Primrose's face, scorching her whiskers, and she let out a sharp peal of terror. I found myself falling back onto the concrete, my arms around my stomach, laughing so hard that my sides hurt. Zeke was chuckling lightly, but staring at me as if I'd lost my mind. The look on that cat's face was priceless.

At that moment, I couldn't have been happier. Even with the cuts and bruises and Houndour bites, I couldn't have been happier. Not even if I tried.

End Chapter Two.