Lampent

It was a cold evening, with snow falling slowly. Lightposts decorated with garlands lit up the streets while a radio played holiday music, but some of the alleys were dim and quiet. Within one, a Lampent was just waking up. He had spent the day attached to the wall of this skyscraper, looking like an out of place black iron lamp. In the past, he might have blended in, but in all of his memories, he had only found two lamps that looked anything like him. Still, most humans didn't come this way to notice him.

Most. His blue flame was starting to burn energy from a living creature; one of the humans had gotten close to him. Without opening his eyes, he heard the light footsteps of children and smelled the sweat of nervousness. The Lampent opened his yellow eyes halfway, causing the children to pause. It was three boys; none of them had snowballs or water buckets. Believing that whatever they had in mind wouldn't be harmful, he closed his eyes again. The energy he drew from them wouldn't be much, easily recovered with sleep. But it would keep him going until he found something more suitable for eating.

One boy gave a soft sigh of relief, while another tried to hush him from the noise. Something jingled... jingled? It caused the boys to freeze up for a moment, but he humored them by appearing to still be sleeping. Then one of them got close enough to tie something to his right arm. While it wasn't heavy, it did jingle when he shook his arm, causing the boy to yelp and jump back. The Lampent then opened his eyes and looked down at the boys. He made an eerie call, which caused them to run off in fright. But a short time later, he heard laughter and proud shouts from them.

Looking at their 'prank', the Lampent saw a trio of silver jingle bells attached to his right arm by a shiny gold ribbon. He had heard the humans speaking lately about the holiday spirit, so were they trying to give that to a spirit? He shook his arm, making the silver bells jingle. Actually, it was a pleasing little thing, so he wouldn't mind wearing it for a little while. He detached himself from the wall and began to wander in the dark areas of Castelia City.

This was a place where many humans and Pokemon lived. Many died as well, but most of them were taken care of so that their spirits did not wander. As for the spirits that were not put to rest quickly, he hunted for them. His fires burned from the energy they had. It was not from maliciousness that he did so, just need for fuel. When he had been a Litwick, he had heard from an older Lampent that they were set to do this so that the lost spirits did not remain, drawing other souls of the dead to them and growing in numbers until the area was turned into a necropolis. But he always felt it was because it was better to hunt the lost souls of the dead than to burn the life energy of the living. While he did not burn much living energy, the steady loss would weaken the other until they grew ill and died.

A rock clattering on the wall near him made the Lampent turn alert. There was a woman standing in a doorway to the alley. "You keep away from our business, spirit," she told him harshly. "We don't need you cursing the area."

Maybe it was a noble purpose to keep the world in balance, or maybe it was just a courtesy for the living. Whichever reason it was, humans generally didn't think of that and feared them. The Lampent quietly moved on, trying to avoid running into another. It was a regular night to him. Except for the little prank, he thought, shaking the bells again. Or had it been an unintended gift? He liked it.

As the night went on, fewer humans were out in the streets. There were some other Pokemon wandering around, braving the cold for scraps of food the humans might have left behind. Not many other Ghost Pokemon, though. He had been born in another place, but this was where he made his home even though he was unusual for this city. Most nights, it was a good place to him. But he wasn't able to find a lost spirit tonight either. That worried him. He could stay lit for a while on living energy, but he didn't want to depend on it. At one time, that had caused something tragic. He needed to keep searching.

He passed by one alley and saw a human child in it. At first, he moved on, but something bothered him. The Lampent turned back and floated by the alley again. There was a little girl there, dressed inappropriately for the weather in a pink Audino nightgown and matching slippers. Feeling that something had to be wrong, he went into the alley to investigate. He worried about scaring her, so he made the silver bells jingle and tried not to be as eerie when he called to her.

"Ooo, what pretty fire," the girl said, smiling and not scared of him. "Are you a Christmas spirit? Because I was looking for one to make things good again. I was sure there were angels out tonight because of all the glowing snowflakes and pretty music. Are you one? I can dance good, so I can be an angel too once I learn to sing." Then she spun around on the spot.

The Lampent didn't know a lot about humans, but he was certain that this wasn't normal behavior from one. Dangerous too; she would freeze to death if she stayed out much longer like this. While that would give him the spirit energy he was looking for, that wasn't how he wanted to find it. He went past her, feeling her energy as he came close. That told her that the girl was sick already. Shaking the bells, he waited at the other end of the alley.

That got her to follow him. "Where are you going? Can I come too? I never saw an angel with blue fire for wings."

As long as she followed him to somewhere safe, he didn't mind whatever she called him. The Lampent looked around the street, but many of the buildings here had lights out. Down the street, there was a blue sign that he had learned was a sign of the police. The street was empty. He turned to keep an eye on her, fortunate because she was getting distracted in the snowflakes. Shaking the bells and calling for her attention, the Lampent led her over a block to where the police station was.

Once there, there was another problem. The police station was made so that it was protected from many things, including a Ghost Pokemon passing through its walls. Not only that, but his arms did not end in hands. The Lampent knocked on the door, hoping for a quick response. He tried to cut off taking in any new energy, but the girl was sick and it wouldn't take much from his power to make things worse for her.

"What's the matter?" the girl asked. She took hold of the handle, but the door proved to heavy for her to move. So she started knocking on the door as well.

It wasn't long after that when a policeman came to the door and opened it. "What are you doing out so late with your Pokemon, little lady?" he asked. "It's not a night to be out, especially as you are."

"I found a Christmas spirit!" she said, deliriously cheerful in her illness. "I was getting so hot inside and then I followed pretty lights until I found it. It's going to make everything better."

The policeman took her hand, examining her face. "I see. You'd better come inside and tell me how to call your parents. You might need to be in the hospital." He then looked at the Pokemon. "Thank you Lampent. You might've saved her life. Would you like to come in as well?"

The Lampent warbled back, hoping for the real angels to look after the girl from that point. Then he turned and went back into the dark alleyways. He had done all that he safely could.

The next night, he woke up to an unexpected gift from the policeman: a Pokemon Christmas treat made of seeds and berries rolled up with honey and peanut butter. While it wasn't as good as finding a lost spirit for fuel, it would keep him going for a few more nights. And the police treated with respect for the rest of his nights.

…

Lampent Black entry: This ominous Pokemon is feared. Through cities it wanders, searching for the spirits of the fallen.

At first, I thought this was going to be a play on the Little Match Girl, even though I feel it's not a great Christmas story. It's a good story, yeah, but it's so sad, being about a poor girl who gets left out in the cold and freezes to death. But anyhow, this story doesn't share much with that one now.

And I meant to use Lampent for Halloween!