Hour of the Houndour

It was starting to get late. Yugi and his friends knew that if they didn't reach the nearby Pokémon Center, then they would have to camp out for the night. Rather than keep walking, everyone agreed to set up camp. They agreed that they had all gone far enough for today. Goldenrod City wouldn't be going anywhere.

As usual, Emily and Yugi would gather firewood and water and Joey would make dinner with everyone's help. Kaiba even gave the Pokémon their own dinner as well. Finally, the table was set and everyone could eat. "I thought you guys would be tired of having stew and chowder all the time, so I thought we'd have sandwiches tonight," Joey told his friends. The meal was arranged so everyone could make their sandwiches to their liking with the different meats and vegetables. There weren't a lot of condiments, but they all decided to bear with it.

"Thanks, Joey," Yugi told him. "I admit, having the same meal more than once can be tiring."

"It can make you sick too," Kaiba added. "You become tired of it and decide you don't like it as much as you used to."

"We're having a different kind of desert tonight too," said Emily. She held out a bowl with slices of apples and oranges.

"Aw, come on, Em," Joey complained. "You always make your deserts sweet pastries or breads filled with nuts, fruit, chocolate, or fruit paste."

"Desert doesn't have to be like that all the time," she corrected. "It can just be plain fruit too. It's actually pretty healthy and there's fluids in them to keep consumers hydrated."

Kaiba grinned. "At least someone pays attention in nutrition class."

The problem with having different foods on the table was that each scent drew the attention of wild animals. It was no different with Pokémon. Nearby, a bush rustled. From inside emerged a canine Pokémon called Houndour. It was a black dog with a red orange underbody and a skeletal-like armor. It smelled the food and approached the table. It also got on its hind legs and tried reaching for the beef and turkey.

Kaiba was the first to notice the dog Pokémon. "Hey, get away from there!" he cried. Startled, Houndour got down and backed away. The brunette got up and began approaching Houndoom, but as he did, the young dog arched his back, bared his teeth, and growled fiercely. Kaiba had to be careful. He knew that Pokémon like Houndour often live in packs and if he did anything to threaten this canine, his comrades would come running. Houndour held his ground and wouldn't relax. The brunette didn't want to do anything alarming, so he stepped back and reached for his sandwich. Houndour perked his ears up and stopped growling. Kaiba grasped his sandwich and held it out to Houndour. The young canine sniffed the meal that was offered to him, wondering if it was a trick. He couldn't smell anything foul, so he took the sandwich and ran back into the woods.

Kaiba wasn't concerned that the Houndour took off, but he had a feeling that he wouldn't be gone. "That dog's going to keep coming back as long as we have our food sitting out," he warned his friends. "Let's put it away."

"What good will that do?" Joey asked. "We don't have anywhere to spend the night. If Houndour comes back, he'll sniff through our supplies and steal us blind. And worse, he might bring his buddies back with him." The others certainly agree with the idea of getting involved with a pack. But they didn't notice any other Houndour. Nonetheless, everyone agreed to take turns standing guard in case Houndour would come back.

After dinner, everyone washed up and unrolled their sleeping bags. With no tents, changing clothes would be a little hard to do because they would all be so exposed. Emily put a blindfold on over her eyes and turned away so the boys could change clothes. Kaiba put on a pair of wool pants and a purple t-shirt with an emblem of the legendary bird Pokémon Moltres.

Yugi noticed and said, "Kaiba, is that Moltres?"

"Mm-hmm," he replied. "I wear it as a pajama shirt."

"That's cool. Check this out." And Yugi showed his friend that he was wearing a white t-shirt with an emblem of the legendary bird Pokémon Articuno.

"I've got one too," Joey bragged. He was wearing an orange t-shirt with an emblem of the last legendary bird Pokémon Zapdos. Looking at the emblems, the boys noticed that the elements represented by the bird Pokémon were the same elements represented by the Legendary Knights. That was why they got their shirts customized with the emblems.

Emily would have invited herself to take part in the conversation, but she had to remain considerate and wait until her friends were finished. When they did, they told her she could get into her pajamas now. Instead of wearing her usual nightgown, she was dressed in a tank top and pajama pants with Pikachu on them.

The blonde girl decided to take the first watch with Shade's help. It seemed pretty quiet and the only sound was the rustling of trees in the wind. To keep Emily from falling asleep, Shade would gently bite her hand. He wouldn't alert her unless he sensed an enemy, but he didn't want her to fall asleep on the job.

Suddenly, Shade's ears perked up. He also picked up a strange scent in the air. If it was the same Houndour from earlier this evening, then it would confirm that Kaiba's suspicions were right and he was coming back hungry for more. Carefully, Emily approached everyone's backpacks. Shade arched his back to keep his guard.

And Houndour did come back. The rings on Shade's body lit up and the light shined on the canine Pokémon. "You again," Emily whispered, trying not to wake the boys. "What are you doing here?"

"Trying not to starve," Houndour answered. "What are you doing?"

"I'm standing guard," she told him.

"Well, you can relax. I do get hungry, but I'm not going to steal your food," he promised.

That was a relief. Emily didn't want this to result in fighting. Curious, she asked, "Shouldn't you be getting back to your pack?"

Houndour lied down on his stomach. "We're nocturnal. We often break up and forage at night. By morning, we regroup back at our den." That explained a little. And because Houndour lived in packs, if one member was in danger, all it had to do was send out an S.O.S. and the rest of the pack members would come running to the rescue. Sometimes the pack would get smaller because some Houndour would get captured to join the parties of traveling trainers. But it wasn't something to be too concerned about. If a Houndour liked the passerby, then it wouldn't mind becoming a partner. Other times, loyalty to comrades would get in the way and that was why some Houndour remained with their packs.

The young canine turned his attention to Kaiba. "I have to give your friend credit for being smart. He knew what I wanted and gave it to me without causing trouble."

Emily agreed. "Kaiba always studies his opponents carefully before making any rash decisions. It doesn't always work in his favor, but at least he always thinks things through."

"That's how our pack has slightly diminished," Houndour told her. "We observe and interact with the people who pass near our grounds. If we deem them worthy of companionship from us, we're willing to join them. If not, well, it can be pretty messy. But there are times when we like the humans we meet, but would rather stay with the pack. So we try not to get too fond of travelers."

Emily figured she could guess how often that happened and she wondered if this encounter was just like the previous times. "What are your feelings towards us?"

"You seem like pretty nice humans," the young canine replied. "But I'll have to judge for myself." Houndour had even chosen the human he wanted to test. He saw Kaiba sleeping and lied down beside him. "We'll want an early start tomorrow. You should get some sleep too."

The blonde girl agreed and got into her sleeping bag. Shade decided to stay on the lookout in case Houndour would try to do anything sneaky or if more pack members would come.

By the time dawn started to break, Kaiba began to stir. He was always an early riser and liked to get a quick start. As he sat up, he noticed a dark figure lying beside him. "What in the-?" To his surprise, it was the same Houndour from yesterday evening. "You came back," he whispered. Kaiba knew that dogs were loyal, but wondered if there was more to this canine. Houndour woke up to the feel of Kaiba's hand on his head. He lifted his head up and softly growled.

Shade licked Emily to wake her up. He had been up all night keeping watch and wasn't feeling very tired. The blonde woke up and smiled. "Good morning," she whispered and began petting him.

Shade chuckled and purred. "Look over there," he told her.

Emily followed his gaze and saw Kaiba petting Houndour. She got out of her sleeping bag and approached her friend. "Houndour came back because he wanted to thank you for the meal."

"Is that so?" Kaiba asked. "You didn't have to stay all night. You could have just woken me up."

"Houndour was afraid that if he did, you and the others would have gotten the impression that he would have come back to steal the rest of our food and if that happened, it all would have turned into a fight," Emily explained. That was understandable. Houndour were intimidating, but they were only fierce when they needed to be. Houndour gripped Kaiba's sleeve in his teeth and began pulling.

Kaiba didn't know what this was about. "Briar, you understand Pokémon better. Can you tell me what Houndour wants?"

The blonde chuckled. "Isn't it obvious? Houndour wants to challenge you to a battle. You see, Houndour sees something good in you and wants to have a battle with you to confirm his suspicions. That's why he stayed here with you all night. He wanted you to be at full power and ready."

Kaiba gave it some thought and figured he liked the sound of that. So he accepted Houndour's challenge. But he had to get ready first. So he changed clothes, washed his face, brushed his teeth, and was ready.

To make this a fair fight, Kaiba chose Cyndaquil to face Houndour. He could have chosen Onix to have a type advantage, but Cyndaquil seemed like a better opponent. Talk about fighting fire with fire. Houndour made the first move by intimidating Cyndaquil with a Leer attack. Cyndaquil trembled, but held his ground. He attacked with Swift, but the canine rolled over to dodge. Houndour launched his Flamethrower attack, but Cyndaquil countered with his own Flamethrower. They kept going at it with each other and wouldn't let up. Finally, they stopped to breathe. Kaiba acted quick and tossed his Pokéball at Houndour. The ball rotated a few times, but Houndour broke free. This wasn't going to be easy.

Houndour used Smog to obscure his surroundings and hide from his enemy. Cyndaquil couldn't see and didn't know where to attack from. Houndour emerged from the Smog and tackled Cyndaquil. The little fire rat tried to get up. He looked at the canine and laid a fierce gaze. Suddenly, Cyndaquil began glowing. This meant one thing: he was evolving. When the light subsided, he looked like a great ferret with fire burning on its back. He was now a Quilava. This match may go in Kaiba's favor after all. He commanded Quilava to attack with Flame Wheel. The fire would actually raise Houndour's attack status because of his special ability of Flash Fire, but charging at him would also deal some damage. Houndour was tossed into the air and ended up crashing into a tree. Houndour groaned and tried to get up. Instead, he faced Kaiba and grinned. He decided he was right about Kaiba after that last attack. Kaiba grinned back and tossed his Pokéball. The ball rotated a few times, but Kaiba was steady. The center glowed, signaling that the capture was a success. Kaiba was pleased with the way the battle turned out. Typically, he wasn't a dog person, but he figured Houndour would make a good addition to the team after their encounter. Not to mention Cyndaquil evolved into Quilava. Kaiba knew it would be a matter of time. He had been battling with his first Pokémon a lot.