Vanilluxe and Chandelure

Snow and embers fell from the sky, turning the world to white, black, and red. People knew the signs well: it was the result of fighting between the two most powerful Pokémon of the countryside, Vanilluxe and Chandelure. Only that would cause the phenomenon of a house burning as bright as day while a fierce blizzard shrouded the night. When they got angry, the elements went wild.

The snow and embers were lighter at that moment as he hurried through the mess. Already, the snow was beginning to crunch under his boots; the embers melted the snow, which froze back into ice. The house fire was still bright, casting its red-orange glow onto the landscape. One glance and he knew the house was a total loss. It was horrible, and yet not quite as horrible as what its light showed.

Partly covered in snow, there was a human corpse lying on the ground. There were ice crystals and burns over part of his skin. Hovering near the body, there were the two villainous Pokémon, Vanilluxe with its glossy ice blue body and creamy white faces, and Chandelure with its ghostly blue flames and ancient-looking metal structure. The two Pokémon were looking at the body, their expressions unreadable.

He stopped for a second in shock, then ran over. "You monsters! You killed him!"

Startled, the two Pokémon looked at him, then fled the scene. He stopped near the body and crouched down to make sure. The face bore a painful expression, as if it had been a torturous death. From his mouth, there were trails of blood. But there was no mistaking it. It was his father.

For a heart-wrenching moment, he felt like he couldn't move or think. This wasn't supposed to be happening. Sure, people had threatened death, but it was never really meant. And those two Pokémon, they caused a lot of havoc and suffering yet had not outright killed anybody. At least, he thought that was so. Maybe they were deadlier than anyone had taken them to be.

Then he got back up in a rage and ran after the Pokémon. They would pay for this! The townsfolk had tolerated them thus far, but now they had destroyed his family's home and murdered his father. They couldn't be left to do as they pleased.

Down the road, he spotted someone walking towards the next town over. Strange; it was late and he had been heading home just fifteen minutes before. The person was wearing a heavy black hooded cloak, but it was cold. Maybe the person had to wait out the blizzard called by Vanilluxe. "Hey! Have you seen Vanilluxe and Chandelure?"

The person turned her head as he slowed near her, showing a black blindfold over her eyes. "I couldn't see, but I felt them pass by not long ago."

Oh, it was that seer woman. She was never seen without that blindfold, but she had a way of knowing things others could not tell. "I need to find them," he said. "They killed my father and destroyed our home."

"Is that so?" she said. "Your father had many enemies, apparently among Pokémon as well. They would be at their homes, most likely. Good luck."

"Right, thanks. You be careful on the roads." He then started running again.

"Only one killed your father," the seer called out after him.

He paused again, right before a path that led into the wild. "Only one?"

"Can you tell who?" she asked. "Make the wrong choice and you'll kill one not at fault."

With her powers, that was probably true. His anger still burned in his soul, but he would be careful. "I'll make the right choice." Then he headed off to find the two Pokémon.

He reached the cave that Vanilluxe lived in first. No matter what time of year it was, this cave was always icy and chilly. Large ice crystals shone on every wall, making the light in the cave turn blue. In the middle of the first room, there was Vanilluxe. He was turned around, making light snow flakes whirl around him.

"I've got you now," he said, putting his hand on the handle of his sword. It took some effort not to draw it. "You're going to pay for the suffering you've caused."

The smaller of the heads turned to see him first, then started screaming. The larger head turned his body around. "Do you have to be so rude that you burst into someone's home and speak like tha… SHUT UP!"

The smaller head stopped screaming, then hiccupped. "S-sorry. So sorry."

Sighing with a puff of frosted breath, Vanilluxe said, "I don't need to be arguing with myself here. Sorry, but he has a sharp sword! I know, I know. What do you want?"

Taking the time to hold his anger back, he said, "You were there. Did you kill my father?"

"No, no way," he said, shaking both heads. "I was there, yeah, but that doesn't mean anything. He was dead when I got there. And then you came running and screaming at me, so that was scary. But I'm not a coward, it's just my other head panics much too quickly. So sorry."

"There was ice on his skin," he pointed out. "And you're the one who caused that blizzard this evening; it's like the storms you cause."

The larger head looked indignant. "Now that's not proof that I killed him. When I hunt, I freeze my prey solid. Not little bits of ice. And he should have known better than to be outside without proper clothing when one of my storms goes on. That's how it's been decided, right? If someone is dumb enough to go out in a snowstorm and freeze from lack of protection, it's their stupidity that's at fault, not my power."

"But you are the one causing these destructive and damaging blizzards," he argued. "Don't you think about others? You make things dangerous."

"Sorry!" the smaller head squealed, looking fearfully at the sword. But the larger head sighed. "You humans are so sensitive about every little thing, some so afraid of stepping on another's toes that you barely walk, while others go and stomp around. Your father was one of those stompers. I'm a Pokémon, don't you get it? And I have every right to defend my territory and honor against that greedy Chandelure. In fact, I would think that she probably killed that man. He was burned, and there was that house fire. Not only that, but she was mad at him for what happened at that town meeting."

"Weren't you mad at him too for that?"

"Yes, but I didn't kill him," the larger head insisted. Then the smaller head added, "Now could you go and take your scary sword with you? I didn't do anything bad."

He doubted the Pokémon was completely innocent, but he left Vanilluxe's cave for the time being. If he turned out to be the murderer, then justice would come. But he had to check out Chandelure. Perhaps he should have asked the seer to tell him more precisely which one had killed his father.

The snow and embers had stopped falling by the time he arrived at where Chandelure lived. The Ghost Pokémon stayed at an old house that had been abandoned by its human residents. With them gone, she had moved in along with many of her younger kin. Litwicks and Lampents kept the place lit with eerie purple candlelight, which made the shadows seem to come alive. Superstition said that entering a house inhabited by such Pokémon was asking for death. Still, he opened the door and went inside.

Before long, there were scuffles as smaller Pokémon fled the room, taking some of the light with them. But Chandelure put off enough light to fill the room. She hung from the ceiling, in a spot where the real light fixture had been ripped out of place. When he looked up, her eyes were open a slight bit. Then she closed them and looked like an ordinary object.

"Don't try to fool me, Chandelure," he said. "Are you the one who killed my father?"

She opened her eyes fully. "No, I was not," she said. "Pity that, but he was already dead when I saw him. You're probably looking for Vanilluxe."

"But you wanted to kill him. And he was burned, which would be how you killed him."

She shifted two arms to cross each other. "Lots of people wanted to kill him as he was so abrasive to others. Perhaps even to you. Look, if I had killed him, it would only do me good for a short while. I would get a respite, and then his ghost would come to haunt and annoy me. And when I was out to hunt and kill, I don't burn the body. I steal the spirit to burn for my fuel and we can get spiritual energy in easier ways than that."

He had heard about that, if only in rumors. "Even so, you caused our home to burn down. I can get revenge on you for that."

"I think he got burned escaping the house myself," Chandelure said. "That's where his footprints came from. I had no intention of burning any houses down too. Sheesh, you humans make such a fuss about being enlightened and clever and all; you'd think you'd be able to make houses that didn't burn because of little fire attacks. Even this place, I have to tell the little sticks to watch their powers as well as teach them not to steal energy from humans because you'd hunt us all down in response. We don't kill humans because we're not foolish. Now please, if you don't have solid proof, leave this place alone. I haven't killed any of you."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "One of you is lying to me. When I find out who it is, I will bring you to justice."

"Justice in the eyes of whom?" she asked as he left the house.

One of them was lying. He knew that. Now he had to go back to the scene and figure out which one it was.

…

Vanilluxe White entry: If both heads get angry simultaneously, this Pokémon expels a blizzard, burying everything in snow.

White entry: Being consumed in Chandelure's flames burns up the spirit, leaving the body behind.

So, one committed the crime and one is lying. Who's the killer? I know who...