Fired Up

When the heroes said they enjoyed the heat of the sun beating down on them, they didn't mean the feel of being in a scorching climate. Emily was the only one who seemed to tolerate it because she was adaptable to hot and cold weather. To get cooled off and refreshed, Joey called on Totodile to spray water in the air like a fountain. Now that they were feeling cooled off, they could get back on the road.

To their delight, Azalea Town was just up ahead. Feeling like they got their strength back, the heroes raced to the town. As they were walking through the streets, they noticed a lot of Slowpoke. Slowpoke were dense, but not completely unaware of their surroundings. It would just take some time for them to catch on to any event. There was an old tale about the Slowpoke having the power to make it rain in times of drought by simply yawning. Since then, the people of Azalea Town have treated Slowpoke with honor and respect. There hasn't been a drought in Azalea Town for years, but this hot day made it seem like one.

Nearby was the Slowpoke Well, where all the Slowpoke lived. Not many trainers liked to have Slowpoke as members of their parties, but there were poachers and collectors who hunted Slowpoke for profit and this well was like a sanctuary to the Slowpoke.

Also in Azalea Town, there lived an old man named Kurt, who was a craftsman at Pokéballs. The Pokéballs would be crafted from Apricorns, a mechanism that was first used to capture Pokémon before Pokéballs were invented. The heroes decided to pay a visit to Kurt and see the kind of work he did.

Kurt didn't mind having visitors come in to pay him a visit or even request him to create a Pokéball. He even told the heroes what kinds of Pokéballs he crafted. There were seven different colors of Apricorns and the different color determined the kind of Pokéball that would be crafted. A white Apricorn would be crafted into a Fast Ball, a Pokéball capable of capturing Pokémon of great speed. A pink Apricorn would be crafted into a Love Ball, a Pokéball used to capture Pokémon of opposite genders from their opponents. A blue Apricorn would be crafted into a Lure Ball, a Pokéball capable of capturing water-type Pokémon. A green Apricorn would be crafted into a Friend Ball, a Pokéball that would help the captured Pokémon become friendly toward its new trainer. A yellow Apricorn would be crafted into a Moon Ball, a Pokéball that was effective for capturing Pokémon that evolved by means of using a Moon Stone. A black Apricorn would be crafted into a Heavy Ball, a Pokéball that was effective for capturing Pokémon of excessive weights. And finally, there was a red Apricorn, which would be crafted into a Level Ball, the kind of Pokéball used to capture Pokémon of lower levels than its opponent.

After learning about the Apricorns and the Pokéballs they would be made into, the heroes decided to head out to gather the Apricorns they wanted. Kurt's granddaughter, Maisie, decided to accompany them. She was a young girl with blue eyes and brown hair and she knew when Apricorns were ready for the picking. She took the heroes to the hills and helped them pick their Apricorns. They decided they wanted something that would represent them. Kaiba picked a red Apricorn, Yugi picked a blue Apricorn, Emily picked a pink Apricorn, and Joey picked a green Apricorn.

The heroes presented their Apricorns to Kurt, but he said it would take at least a full day for them to be crafted. Emily didn't mind waiting this long. She would take this time to train for her battle at the Azalea gym. Yugi and the others agreed to help her train.

They headed to the Slowpoke Well outside of town to have their practice matches. The Slowpoke didn't mind their presence and probably wouldn't be paying much attention to the action anyway. But better than no company. Emily was going to have her first match with Kaiba. She pitted Salamando against Cyndaquil. Talk about getting fired up, but everyone had a feeling things wouldn't end like they did last time. For the first move, Salamando used Swift to attack from afar. Cyndaquil shrouded himself using Smokescreen to avoid the attack. After that, he emerged from the smoke covered in fire. He was using Flame Wheel. Emily had a feeling he would try something like this. She told Salamando to jump over Cyndaquil. Salamando disobeyed and instead jumped on Cyndaquil and rolled with him. His paws were getting burned, but the Eevee endured it and continued rolling with Cyndaquil. The fire-type Pokémon tried to knock him down, but Salamando kept on him like a clown on a circus ball. Having had enough circus tricks, Kaiba commands Cyndaquil to stop and use Flamethrower. Salamando dodges by rolling in the dirt. With his paws burnt, he can't run without tripping himself, so he keeps rolling around. Cyndaquil charges in with another Flame Wheel and takes out Salamando.

The battle was over, but Salamando refused to go down. Emily didn't want him to push himself, so she ran to the battlefield and picked him up. "That's enough, Salamando. You don't have the strength to continue fighting."

"Yes, I do," he protested. "All those attacks are nothing compared to what I've been through. It doesn't hurt me. It makes me stronger." His paws sting from his burns, but he ignores the pain and continues squirming. "I want to keep fighting so I can get stronger. So bring on whatever you throw at me. I'll keep on coming and I'll send it back."

Emily wouldn't let go. "You're done. I'm taking you to the Pokémon Center to get you healed." Knowing he'll refuse to return to his Pokéball, Emily decides to carry him all the way.

As Yugi, Joey, and Kaiba watched Emily return to the Pokémon Center, they feel great sorrow for her and for Salamando. "I don't understand," Yugi was saying. "Emily and Salamando were battling together so well when they started traveling. But just now, he refused to obey her commands."

"That Eevee's got a lot of spunk," said Joey. "But he was crazy when he took those attacks head-on. I mean, leaping on a Pokémon on fire and staying in contact? What was he thinking?"

Kaiba had a feeling he knew what the matter was. "Salamando wasn't just trying to outmaneuver Cyndaquil. He was trying to make himself stronger. That's what happens when you're stubborn and have a lot of attitude. You put yourself in trouble and don't care about anything else. If what doesn't kill you will only make you stronger, you'll keep taking in whatever damage is being dealt to you." The brunette lowers his head and sighs. "Anybody would know that. We would also know just as much that Salamando's methods are the wrong way and Briar's trying to teach him so."

"What can we do?" Joey asked.

"There's nothing we can do," Kaiba answered. "Briar is Salamando's trainer and only she can set things right and connect with him. Then and only then will Salamando know where true strength comes from."

"Not to mention he could also use an attitude adjustment," Joey smartly stated, thinking about Salamando's temper and mildly aggressive behavior.

As Emily waited to hear Salamando's results, she scolded herself for him being like this. She thought that perhaps the reason Salamando was disobeying her was because she wasn't being a good trainer. I have to know what the reason is behind Salamando's actions for his behavior today. Maybe then, I can help him.

The rest of the siblings were waiting with her. Luna spoke up and asked, "Is Salamando going to be okay?"

Emily wasn't sure, but she didn't want to say anything that would shock her friends. So she replied, "Oh, sure. He's going to be fine."

"Emily, I know what you're trying to do," Lumina tells her. "You're worried, and you don't want us to be too. But it's really okay."

Shade agreed. "Yeah, Salamando has put himself in harm's way many times before. He doesn't normally like to fight, but whatever crazy action he takes, he does it because he's our brother and he loves us."

"That's right," Undine was saying, "He's trying to be strong for all of us." She and the others have tried reasoning with him about his methods and that sometimes, they aren't always the best. But he's often stubbornly refused to listen. Undine continues and tells Emily, "I know he may think he knows better than everyone else and that his way is the right way, but he learns his lessons fast. It gives him time to think about what went wrong and what he can do to better himself. We remind him that most of his tactics end up in disaster because a lot of it has to do with him not listening. But I think if he learns to do what you say, he'll find that something good may come from it."

"She's right," Sylphid said in agreement. "We have to work together, after all."

As Emily listens to what her Pokémon are telling her, she smiles and promises to help everyone get stronger. "Thanks, you guys," she says and hugs every one of them.

The light went out, signaling that the exams were complete. The doors opened and Salamando came out as he was sitting on a stretcher. "Thank you for waiting," Nurse Joy tells Emily. "Salamando is doing very well. We've healed the burns on his paws, but he'll have to take it easy for a while."

"Okay, thank you," said Emily. She approaches Salamando and asks him, "How are you feeling, buddy?"

He answers her and tells her, "Well, my paws are still a little sore, so it kind of hurts to stand on them. But other than that, I'm feeling much better." He jumps off of the stretcher and leaps into Emily's arms. "I'm sorry. I guess I should have listened to you."

"It's okay," Emily says as she hugs him. "I should have known you liked to do things your way. But don't worry about it, okay? We can get stronger together in body and spirit."

Salamando looks down and faces his siblings. As they nod in agreement, he decides that it's time to change his ways a little. It was one thing when he was fighting to survive with his family. Now he had a trainer who would look out for him and stubbornness wouldn't be an option. He faces Emily again and gives her his answer. "I like the sound of that."

Pleased with his answer, Emily gently hugs Salamando. She takes him with her and they sit down on the chairs. "I have an idea that might help." She reaches into her bag and takes out an orange rock with a fire pattern in it.

Salamando's eyes shine with excitement. "Wow! A Fire Stone!" Salamando remembered that when he was little, he wanted to grow up to be tough and strong and he thought that the best kind of Pokémon to be like that would be Flareon. He was about to touch it, but he stopped and pulled his paw back. "It's not that I don't want to evolve into a Flareon. Believe me, I do. It's just that, I don't want to force you to do something I want to do."

Emily smiles and scratches his ears. "I'll be happy with whatever you decide. If you want to wait a little while longer, you can. I promised I would help you and your brothers and sisters get stronger and we'll do it at each's own pace."

Salamando wanted to trust in his own heart as well as his trainer's words. He didn't think he was ready because of this afternoon's fiasco, but he changed his mind and decided he wanted to evolve. So he placed his paw over the Fire Stone and touched it. His body glowed and grew bigger. When the evolution was complete, Salamando's fur had turned into a dark orange color and the fur around his neck and tail was as bright as sunshine yellow. He was now a Flareon.

Salamando laughed as he admired his new appearance. His paws weren't sore anymore and he began to leap with merriment. He jumped into Emily's arms once again and began crying tears of happiness. "Thank you, Emily. Thank you so much. And I promise, I'll get stronger with your help. And I'll help my brothers and sisters too."

"Oh, Salamando," Emily sighed as she hugged him.

The doors to the Pokémon Center opened up and Yugi, Joey, and Kaiba passed through them. They figured that Emily was taking too long, so after a few battles with each other, they agreed to meet her at the Pokémon Center. The heroes agreed that they had enough excitement for today and it was time to relax. Emily and her Pokémon were going to need their strength for tomorrow's gym battle anyway.