---------Espeon Day 3------------

We had managed to arrive at a Rest House just out of the ashen plains. A kindly old lady ran it and as soon as she saw Flint, she allowed us in. Who knew people were so picky to whom they let in? Though, we could have been Team Rocket or Team Magma for all she knew, or one of the many other criminal groups that have plagued the lands. Maybe it was because Flint was half asleep by the time we arrived and Aiden had to carry him to our room as, as soon as we entered the house, he had fallen asleep.

Now, the days seemed brighter. It was nearing the peak of summer, lucky for us. I lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling, as Flint snored softly on the floor, somehow comfortable in the position Aiden had left him in. Aiden was awake but he had gone to find some breakfast, I was hungry but decided to wait on Flint, in case he thought we abandoned him. And I didn't want a little Pokémon blurting out to everyone that we were once Pokémon. Even though humans wouldn't know what he was saying, there's always one trainer who can understand everything every creature says or does.

Aiden decided then to burst into the room, handfuls of food, obviously taking advantage of the lady's hospitality. Flint opened one eye, eyeing Aiden as he balanced the food, but closed it again and the snoring resumed. I turned to Aiden, half annoyed, half happy for the food.

'Can I grab some?'

He nodded and, seemingly unwilling, handed me a plate full of eggs, bacon and every other thing you could imagine in a breakfast. It smelled delicious, but I was cautious, I still didn't completely trust Aiden and that little old lady I didn't trust at all. After carefully inspecting the food stuffs, I wolfed down the food.

'Whoa, slow down... Hey, I don't know your name. You know mine, isn't that unfair?'

I turned to Aiden, I suppose I wasn't in the most polite frame of mind when I met him, but what did he expect?

'I'm just called Espeon.'

I returned to licking my plate clean but Aiden shook his head.

'You can't be called by that name. What will people think if I called you that? No, we'll have to find one more... human.'

I paused from emptying the plate of every bit of sauce and turned to Aiden, my face full of scorn.

'I don't want a human name. I'm Espeon, not a human.'

Aiden seemed shocked at my sudden outrage but then quietened his voice at an attempt to calm me down.

'Maybe something similar to your name? Like... Esther?'

I had no knowledge on human names, but that one seemed too weird for my liking. I ignored his suggestion and placed the plate neatly on his pile of dishes. This was the moment that Flint decided to fully wake up, he stretched and a small wisp of smoke flew out of his... hole? Either way, it made me cough.

'Okay, so not Esther. Are there any names anyone has called you before?'

He returned me to the conversation but I didn't want to think about the past. The past had so many mistakes... Yet, there was one name that kept returning to me.

'I was called Willow once. A long time ago by a girl... the memory's distant.'

I regretted telling him, but he seemed ecstatic now.

'Brilliant. We have a name for you now. A weird one, but one none the less. Flint, ready to go?'

Flint turned to him, yawning, then nodded. He wouldn't need food for a few days so we had some time on our hands. I was satisfied with my own meal but I knew my stave from hunger wouldn't last, not for the whole day. Stuffing some slices of bread into my pockets, we set out on our way. Careful to not draw attention to ourselves.

***

The sun was baking hot. I was meant to be thriving under this, as a sun Pokémon, but I couldn't exactly enjoy it in thick clothing and in a body that was used to... less than 60 degrees Celsius. Both Aiden and Flint were fine, both beaming and walking with a slight skip in their step. Stupid fire Pokémon... At least I could beat them later when I will dance in the rain and they cower under an umbrella or a tree.

We walked steadily for about a half hour when Flint then decided to go off course, claiming (according to Aiden) that he could see some berry trees. I thought he didn't need to eat yet?! I ran after him, determined to not lose my mind because of some Numel and his obsession with berries. He still knew what we were, and somehow that secret of mine was becoming more and more precious.

'Flint!'

I caught up to him, but not before another trainer. They had short, spiky, blond hair, a little older than me but certainly not taller. They were standing next to Flint (who now looked very pleased with himself) and glared at me.

'This your Pokémon?'

Oh God. What had he done? I nodded, noticing a stalk of what I presume was a berry, sticking out of Flint's mouth.

'He has eaten all of my berries! My bag was completely full of them, I leave it alone for a second, and then this creature scoffs them all. I demand some payment.'

I felt my pockets for an odd coin but all I found was bread crumbs and a few leftover slices of bread. I smiled nervously, but that made the guy explode.

'Fine then, a Pokémon battle!'

My eyes widened. No, no, no, no, no, no. I refuse to battle. But this guy wasn't having it.

'This is your Pokémon. You're a trainer. You have to accept my challenge!'

He began jumping up and down in a rage; I think my confusion annoyed him. But I had to abide by the rules, otherwise I could risk blowing my cover (Yeah, because I was doing a brilliant job so far).

Swallowing hard, I nodded, taking my position on the makeshift battle arena. He smirked, calmer now; he called out an electrike, named 'Sparks'. It growled and little crackles of electricity ran over its body. Oh joy. Flint finally began paying attention to what was happening and stood up, snorting smoke every few seconds. Lovely.

'Quick, Sparks, thundershock!'

Damn, I wasn't prepared for this kind of thing. I hardly knew what attacks Flint knew. He wasn't fast, but we had an advantage from him being part ground.

'Try making him move at least. Then maybe a fire attack?'

Aiden appeared from out of nowhere, residing behind me. I nodded then ordered Flint to move, he leapt (rather nimbly) to the side as the electricity hit the ground.

'Bite!'

'Flamethrower!'

'Jump, then quick attack!'

'Take down!'

We matched each other, blocking their attacks with our own. I found the fluent movement in the battle rather easy to settle into. Flint was winning, but only by a tiny margin. I could hear Aiden take quick breaths every now and again as the match got interesting but mine was steady. Where was this adrenaline rush humans were meant to have?

'Sparks, double team!'

Hundreds of little green and yellow dogs appeared round Flint, and he appeared more terrified than I was.

'He is part ground too!'

Who knew Aiden was such an expert? That little bit of advice jogged my memory but the attack I had in mind was a gamble.

'Quick, Flint, try... er... magnitude?'

I crossed my fingers as the ground started shaking. It was strong, slightly increasing, but was it enough? The multiple electrike seemed shocked as they could no longer stay upright and soon, there was only one, tumbling on the ground.

'Now, flamethrower!'

The earth remained still again, lucky as I was about to fall myself, and Flint gave off a stream of scorching, red fire. It hit the electrike dead on and that was it, over. The electrike was collapsed on the ground, some smoke coming off it, but it was still alive.

'Your debt is cancelled. Now just leave!'

The man recalled his Pokémon, not even bothering to look at us, and walked away muttering curses under his breath. I was smiling; my grin so wide as Aiden approached us. Flint was overjoyed too, dancing in circles until he was dizzy. So this was what it was like, to control a Pokémon and command them to your will. I shouldn't be enjoying this, but I was buzzing. So happy now that I flung my arms around the disorientated Flint and hugged him. We needed to move on, but I wanted to enjoy this moment, a moment where my Pokémon side and my human side were both amused.

---

Just to warn all of you, I try my best to stay away with traditions or already done things in stories. I try to make it all original, but there's a limit you can go to. If I were to make it all random, then Aiden would just walk off, Tor would blow up the world accidentally on purpose and they'd all suddenly fly up to heaven. I avoid clichés, so as soon as I spot any happening in my story, I try my hardest to change them, don't think you know how it's going to end up. You could be right, but I tend to work against the grain, make things harder for myself. But again, thank you for reading.

MoonLynx