We were standing on the edge of a small cliff. And we were all staring at a very simple yet magnificent city that was surrounded by tall mountains under the afternoon glow.

There was a lake at the northern part of the city, where a long building with dragon-like details stood by the bank.

Well, I am pretty sure that we're still in Johto, and that building-with-dragon-decos already made it obvious what this city is called.

"So," I said, finally breaking the silence. "We're gonna go around it?"

Saur nodded.

Shock looked at him for a moment before he turned to me. "Well, obviously. Since we can't risk running into any humans down there."

I noticed Vixie shivered a bit. Yeah, I still remember that weird yet comforting but still weird feeling inside a Pokéball...

I slightly shook my head. "Well, alrighty th—"

Even though it was far away, we still heard the faint explosion sound from the gym's now-smoking roof. A beam of light was heading to our direction, and as quick as a blink, the beam hit the face of the cliff, and obviously, it exploded upon impact.

The earth violently shook as a loud cracking noise pierced my ears. We lost our balance and I fell on my side, and gasped as a large crack on the ground appeared right in front of my face. As soon as the crack appeared, smoke covered my vision. I coughed.

I blinked as my ears registered the frightened cries and shouts of my friends. Instantly, I jumped up as the smoke thinned and began to clear, and I then looked over the new edge in panic.

I called out their names in a shout as I saw the ground they were lying on, well, slid down towards the base, as if like a sled.

I panicked, heart racing, as many thoughts clashed in my mind. Should I go after them? Should I? I gritted my teeth, I shouted 'yolo' in my head, and jumpe—

"Gah!" I yelped when I felt a sharp pain shot through my head as my tail got yanked back. I landed on the ground with a thud. "Oomf!"

"A-are you crazy?!" Vixie exclaimed after spitting my tail out of her mouth. She then ran to my side.

I stared at her in a daze, my mind suddenly blank.

She gave me a worried look before she turned ahead and walked on the edge of the cliff, leaning forward a bit as she looked down.

"That was fun!" Fay's voice echoed quietly down below. "Let's do it again! ...Ow!"

Vixie visibly sighed in relief. "You guys!" she shouted back at them, "we're gonna find a way down!" She then turned back to me, and helped me back up on all four. "You okay?"

"G-guess so..." I said as I pulled her head away from me. "I said I'm fine, so stop nuzzling me..."

She frowned as I looked around, searching for a way to get back to our friends down below. I walked towards the edge and looked down, seeing humans starting to increase in number, surrounding where our friends have landed.

"I sure hope that none of them got captured or anything..." I said before turning back to my Vulpix friend.

She shook her head. "I—"

Something popped out from the ground in between us, and I yelped in surprise, almost falling off the cliff.

"Hi!" Fay chirped brightly, the lower-half of her body still under the hole she made. She shook the dirt off of her fur and smiled at Vixie, and then at me.

I hit her head with a glare. "I almost fell!"

"Ow..." she rubbed her head, shook it, then smiled again at me. "Well, you didn't!"

"That's not the point!"

"Anyway," she completely ignored me as she turned to Vixie. "Shockie said that we should regroup by the lake! Bye!" She took a deep breath and dove back inside the hole.

I blinked and looked down on the hole, but all I saw was darkness. I looked back down the cliff, and saw Fay emerged from the ground, and ran through the horde of people. None of them seemed to be interested in her.

...well, she is a Rattata, after all...

"Should we follow her through this hole?" Vixie ask.

I shook my head. "Nah. We might get captured right before we could resurface..." I turned to her. "Come on. There's probably a way for us to go down safely and without being noticed by people."

Vixie just nodded and we both started walking. She was walking way to close on my side though, but I tried to ignore it. Despite my efforts, she still thinks that we're a thing. Sigh... I did give in a few times, but we didn't really officially became a thing...

...do Pokémon need to be officially be a thing so they could be a thing?

I'm not really sure if we're already close to our destination. Not the lake, but where the evolution gem was located. We may still be very far, or we were already close. I dunno. I forgot to ask Saur about it for maybe two or three days now...

Still, I think it's about time Vixie and I had some alone time...to t-talk about stuff!

"Something wrong?"

I shook my head to get rid of what my nasty brain just thought. I can't believe I actually thought of that! Gah... "N-nothing..."

I saw her frown at me from the corner of my eye. "Jay...why are you...?" she took a breath as she stopped walking with me.

I stopped as well and turned around to face her.

She sighed quietly, turning her gaze to the city.

I blinked. I then looked around.

...welp, things got awkward way too fast than I expected...

I sighed and faced her. "Vixie, we need to talk."

She looked at me.

...er... I guess only humans know what that sentence actually meant. Bleah... "I..." gah... I just want this to be over with. Here goes nothing... "I don't want us to be mates."

She quickly nodded with a neutral and unreadable expression. "I know..."

I blinked.

She took a breath. "B-but I want us to be..."

Oh, for the love of...! Not this again... "We're not gonna go there again, are we?"

She furrowed her brows. "No. I'm not letting you change the topic..."

"What I meant was..." ...I think I should stop talking like a human and start talking simple for this Pokémon right in front of me... "You know what? Never mind. Just...I don't want us to be mates anymore, okay? Okay! We're still friends right? Right! Okay!" I turned back and started walking. "Now let's g—gyah!"

I jumped to the side in panic when a bright and hot stream of fire passed me by. I quickly turned back and stared at her angry face. And oh, I don't know how, but I felt my two pupils shrunk into dots.

She took a step forward. I took a step back. "Er..."

She took another step. "Do humans end relationships in an uncaring and selfish manner like what you just did?"

...for a fire-type, she sure knows how to ask with a scary-icy tone... "N-no...! Of course not!"

"Lier," she spat. "I went too low for a female just to get your attention, and you still rejected me. At least reject me nicely than what you just did!"

Er... "You know... To ber fair, I have already lost count of how many times I have told you about me not wanting to be your mate..."

She was still glaring at me, but she didn't respond. She breathed out fumes of fire towards me, and I gasped, but the flames only reached a few inches away from my nose before it faded in thin air. Still, the message was clear.

Also, Vixie was no longer where she stood a few seconds ago. I turned and saw her walking away, hopefully looking for a way down.

"H-hey! Wait up!" I ran after her.

"Go away!" she shouted back. She didn't even bother stopping nor looking at me.

Welp, I did it... I went to her bad side, and I doubt I'll like it.

...at least we're no longer a thing, right?