Special Chapter 1:

Today's dreamers, tomorrow's heroes!


"Ember, wake up, honey! You'll be late to school!"

"Just five more minutes..."

...

...

"EMBER! COME DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT, IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE GROUNDED FOR A LONG TIME!"

"Ugh...coming!"

Opening my eyes and yawning, I stood up with not a single bit of strength in my legs, and definitely no desire to go to school either.

The only thing that pushed me forward was the fact that I didn't want to see my mother angry.

I entered the Kitchen, and saw the Meowstick using her psychic abilities to prepare our breakfast.

Without looking, she greeted me. "Good morning, sweetie. Did you sleep well?"

My response was an annoyed grunt, before dumping myself in front of the table.

"Come on, girl! You are 15 already! You can't act like a little kid every day!"

"Of course I can. In fact, it is what I'm doing now!"

"Oh, Arceus, what will I do with you?" She said while shaking her head.

She finished making the pancakes and served them in three plates that she put on the table.

Afterwards, she sat down in front of me.

"Eat up, honey. And don't you give me that look! You only have five months of school left!"

"'Only' she says..."

"It will be longer if you keep that attitude!"

"Is that pancakes, I smell?"

That voice belonged to my father. The Delphox had just entered the kitchen and had a rather hungry look on his face.

"Indeed! And they are fresh out of the pan!"

"Delicious!"

"Hi, dad" I said groggily.

"Good morning, dear. I see you are full of energy to begin the day with, huh?"

"Hey, leave your daughter alone! I think she already has enough with having to go to school, so don't go sarcastic on her"

"Very funny"

"Anyway, lets eat already! I'm starving..." Dad said while sitting down.

I was on the verge of falling asleep again, and my mom seemed to realize.

"Ember, if you don't hurry up, you will be late for school! And your father will eat your pancakes!"

"Listen to your mom!" My dad added with his mouth full.

"As if that would be a big problem..."

Seeing that didn't work, she frowned and began eating her own food. "Alright then. I thought you wanted to be early so that you didn't miss the visit from that explorer team, but I guess you changed your mind"

My eyes instantly shot open. "I COMPLETELY FORGOT!"

I ate the pancakes in record time and hurried to prepare myself to school.

"I knew that would wake her up completely"

"You know the girl as if she were your daughter, don't you Christine?"

"Don't be so silly, Richard! And finish your breakfast already! We also have a job to go to"

"Roger that"

Meanwhile, I had already finished brushing my fur and cleaning myself. I was about to exit when my mom called me.

"Ember! You could at least say goodbye, you know?"

"Sorry mom, but I have been waiting this for so long that I can't believe it's today!"

"If I recall correctly, you didn't want to get out of your bed a few minutes ago..."

"That was because I forgot! Can I go now? Pleaseeee?"

She raised a brow.

"Fineeee. Goodbye, mom! Goodbye, dad! Good luck with today's expeditions!"

"That's what I wanted to hear! Goodbye, sweetie! And remember to control yourself in front of that team!"

"Okay!" I said while running out of the house.

My mom sighed. "What are we going to do with that girl?"

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure she will grow up someday. And hopefully, we will be able to see it before we are too old!"


Dashing through the streets of New Hope Town, I headed to the house of my bestie. We always went to school together, and today wasn't going to be an exception!

"Agatha!"

"Ember!"

The Snorunt was standing in front of her house, with a big smile.

"Excited?"

"Of course! An explorer team is coming to our classroom, Agatha! A real explorer team! And they are going to teach us loads of things!"

"Aren't your parents explorers too?"

"But it's not the same! They are always 'You always have to follow the rules' and those kind of things!"

"They are your parents, girl. Of course they act like that! They know you better than anyone else"

The rest of the walk was spent talking about a lot of things, mostly today's main event.

"Can you believe they really are going to come?" Stars were practically appearing in my eyes.

"It's weird, you know? They organize a meeting with an explorer team out of the blue? Just to teach us lessons we can have with regular teachers?"

"I think you are missing the point, girl: THEY ARE EXPLORERS!"

"Geez, okay, I get it!" She said giggling.

The school was in the outskirts of the town, so the trek there was long. It was too short when you were walking with your best friend, though.

"We are already here? Man, can't wait!"

"Remember that they won't arrive until the final periods, so we will have to deal with Mr. Farfetch'd for most of the day"

"I forgot about that! It's going to be a looooong day... But it'll be worth it!"

We kept walking for a few more seconds, until we saw the familiar wooden frame that marked the entrance to the school, with a familiar figure standing near it.

"Good morning, girls! Ready for today's event?"

"We are, nurse Audino!"

"Good. Now come on, class is about to start"

We walked inside the building, and towards our classroom. It wasn't too big of a building (there weren't many kids around here), so it didn't take too long to get to our destination.

Inside, everyone was talking and discussing about the explorer team that was going to come here.

"Who do you think that will come?" Asked Louie, a Mareep.

"No idea" Answered Phoebe, a Ralts.

"You think that myabe it's a lame team that nobody knows about?" Said Pancham, or rather Mark.

"They wouldn't do that, would they?" Added our Buizel classmate, Misty.

"Bah! I'm sure that I am stronger that all of them combined!" Yelled Trace, a male Nidoran.

"Don't go acting tough, dude! You wouldn't even steal an apple from a Slakoth!" Replied Mark.

"I believe you, babe" Reassured Trace's girlfriend, Brooke a female Nidoran while nuzzling him.

"Order, ORDER! Everyone, sit in their respective seats! Class is starting"

"Yes, Mr. Farfetch'd!"

After everyone had calmed and sat down, our teacher cleared his throat. "Good morning, class. As you know, today we are going to have a special visit from an explorer team who have been so kind to come to our class to teach us about all you need to know about exploring. I expect the best of your attitude, am I understood?"

"Clearly, sir!"

"Very well, then. You should also know that they will come to this classroom on the last two periods, so in the meantime, we will have regular class, as always"

A loud grumble coming from all of the students.

"Now, open your textbooks at page 41, please!"


*Ding Dong, Ding Dong!*

"Alright children, time for recess!"

All of us ran outside, headed to the back of the building, where the big field known as the playground was located.

Today was one of the days where there weren't any groups scattered around the whole area, but we were all forming a circle, discussing the upcoming event.

"Does anyone have any theories about who are going to come today?" Asked Phoebe.

"Can't you just red our teacher's mind and tell us?" Replied Mark.

"What? Reading minds is not as easy as it sounds! Only adults know how, and they say that it is very hard, and energy consuming! So no, I haven't read Mr. Farfetch'd's mind!"

"Can we get back on topic? We have half an hour!" Said Misty.

"Yeah!" I yelled.

"Speaking of...Ember, aren't your parents explorers?" Asked Louie.

All eyes turned to me.

"Yep. But they said they knew nothing about it, so they didn't tell me anything"

"That's dissapointing..."

"Anyway, we should think about what the lesson will be about" Said Agatha.

"Or if they are going to make a test out of it..." Sighed Mark.

"I think it will have something to do with Emeras. We haven't talked a lot about those" Suggested Trace.

"You really think we are going to talk about something that simple?" Asked Brooke.

"Yeah, it must be something a bit harder, like dungeon classification or something like that" Replied Phoebe.

Slowly, everyone began telling their ideas out loud, but no one knew which one was the correct one, if there was a correct one at all.

Before long, the bell rang again, telling us that our rant was over, and that it was time to see for ourselves who was coming, and for what.

Everyone sat in their seats. Murmurs filled the classroom, as all of us wanted to give it a final discussion.

Finally, our teacher walked into the classroom and cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention.

"Listen up, children! The moment you've been waiting has arrived. As said before, I ask you to behave, got it?"

"Yes, Mr. Farfetch'd!"

"Good. Give a warm welcome to..."

The door opened.

"Team AWD!"

An Arbok, Weavile and Drapion entered the classroom.

"Sup, Kids!" Greeted the Drapion.

"We are team AWD..." Began the Arbok.

"And we are going to be answering your questions today!" Finished the Weavile while the three of them were striking a pose

The whole class erupted into cheers and claps.

"Told ya boss that this wasn't going to be boring!"

"So, kids! We are team AWD, and we are going to tell you anything you want to know about our job and all of that stuff, so let your questions begin!"

I was the first one to raise my paw.

"What type of work do you guys do?"

"We do a lot of things, but our favourite is exploring places and finding lots of treasure!"

A loud 'Woah!' went around the classroom.

"What type of treasure?" Asked Mark.

"Gold, gems,...you name it!" Answered the Arbok.

More 'Wow!'s.

"Are there any secrets to succeed?" Phoebe asked.

"You just gotta be strong and not let anything intimidate you! That's the key to explore anything in this world!" Was what the Drapion answered.

Murmurs.

"Where are you guys from?" pondered Misty.

"Straight from Treasure Town, in the Grass Continent"

"You should come to check it out someday"

The questions didn't stop. They ranged from questions that had to do with the job, like 'Does the job pay well?', to more complicated personal questions, such as 'What was your favourite expedition?'

Team AWD also told us about a dungeon from their continent called 'Zero Isles'.

"We have been searching for that dungeon for months now, but to no avail" Said Drapion.

"What's so special about that dungeon?" I said, raising my paw.

"Everything!" Yelled Arbok.

"What's your name, little Fennekin?" Asked Weavile.

"Ember"

"Well, Ember. You see, that dungeon is not your regular space-time distortion. Not only do the regular rules for dungeons apply, but the Zero Isles will also take away all your items and reset your strength back to the minimum, basically making you as weak as when you were a little kid, like you lot"

"But how does it do that?"

"No one knows. That's why it is so special. When we find it, though, we will enter and exit victorious from its 50 floors!"

"50 floors?!" Shouted the entire class.

"Quite a big amount, isn't it? Do not worry, for nothing can stop..." Began Weavile.

The three team members striked a pose. "team AWD!"

Everyone clapped at their small play.

"Anyway, does anyone have anymore questions?"

I raised my paw again.

"Yes, Ember?"

"Here in the Water Continent, we have a few legends. Does your continent have any special ones?"

After pondering for a bit, Weavile snapped her claws. "I know!"

She looked at the class. "Has anyone heard about the legend of the Time Gears?"

Everyone began murmuring to themselves again.

"I see you haven't. You see, time gears are supposed to be objects enchanted with some sort of magic that allows time to flow. Supposedly, Time Gears are located in hidden places all over the continent, guarded only by the harsh natural landscape that surrounds them. It is said, that removing a Time Gear from its place will result in that area getting stuck in time until the gear is returned"

"But what happens if all time gears are removed?" Asked Brooke.

Weavile closed her eyes and crossed her arms. After a dramatic pause, she eerily grinned and answered. "Then, the whole planet will freeze in time. Forever"

Everyone shuddered.

"But if only nature protects the Time Gears, what stops someone twisted enough to steal them?" I asked.

Arbok scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous. Even the most crazy, despicable criminal knows that stealing a Time Gear is crossing a line. No one has enough courage to even get too close to them"

"What about the rumors, though?" Said Drapion.

"What rumors?" Asked Agatha.

"There has been some rumors around the continent about some Grovyle hunting the time gears and stealing them for who knows what..." Weavile responded.

"That's terrible!" Yelled Trace.

"Indeed. But again, those are rumors, and the Time Gears are just a legend" Said Weavile while shrugging.

*Ding Dong, Ding Dong!*

"Well, kids. It's been a pleasure to come here, and give you this small talk, but our time is up already. Remember, being a good explorer is always about being the strongest and the best at your job! But also to have compassion and know how to work under pressure!" Added Weavile.

"And with that..." Began Arbok.

"...this has been..." Followed Drapion.

"...team AWD!" Finished Weavile, before all three of them striked the same pose as before, followed by a round of applause from the classroom.

The three of them bowed and Mr. Farfetch'd stood up from his seat.

"Thank you all for coming here and giving us this talk"

"No problem, at all! It was our day off, anyway"

"Class, say goodbye to them!"

"Goodbye team AWD!" Said everyone.

The three of them waved at us and exited the classroom.

"Alright, class! You have behaved excelently, and have demonstrated a great interest. That's what I like to see. Now, without further ado, you are free to go home. See you on Monday!"


"That was amazing!" I yelled.

"I can tell, girl" Responded Agatha.

"Oh, I can't wait to get home and tell my parents about everything we talked about!"

We were walking home, as it was lunch time already, and we were both starving.

We were comenting on everything we talked about, so by the time I realized, we were already in our neighborhood.

"Alright, girl. I think it's time we say goodbye" I said.

"Yep. See you around five at the plaza?"

"Sure!"

We waved goodbye and I entered my house.

"Mom! Dad! I'm back!"

"Welcome back, sweetie!"

"How was your day?"

"Amazing!"

"How was the team that went there?"

"They were so cool! They were called team AWD and we talked about everything! They even told us about a legend from the Grass Continent!"

"That's amazing! Now wash your paws, it's time to eat!"

After that, I quickly rushed to the kitchen to sit down, eager to eat any food.

Finally, a plate of salad was put in front of me.

"Salad? Seriously?"

"You have to be healthy to be a great explorer!"

"I'd much rather eat a random twig I found on the way..."

"Oh come on, Ember! I poured all my heart into it!"

"Fineeeee"

I only agreed to eat the salad because I was starving, and I needed anything edible. I also needed to take a nap as soon as possible. After finishing the salad, I was greeted with a plate full of Seaking fillets.

I ate it as quickly as I could.

"So you do like that, huh?"

I didn't respond to that. "I'm going to take a small nap, but I'm going to hang out with Agatha around 5 pm, so if I'm not awake, could you wake me up?"

"Sure sweetie" Said my dad.

"Thanks!" I said bolting to my room and throwing myself on my bed. I fell asleep almost instantly.


Rubble surrounded us. Fire and brimstone everywhere. I eyed my opponent, a fierce Typhlosion, with my most piercing glare.

"Ember!"

I ran towards him, flames surrounding my body, prepared to tackle that criminal down.

Unfortunately, he saw my intentions and jumped out of the way just in time.

"Ember, wake up!"

Not wanting to let him get away with it, I prepared a punch. The Typhlosion did the same, and we prepared to hit each other. And when the attacks connected...!

"EMBER, I WILL NOT REPEAT IT AGAIN! WAKE UP OR YOU'LL BE LATE!"

I opened my eyes, snapping back to the real world.

Goddammit. I wanted to see where that went!

I yawned and headed down the stairs, still sleepy. My mom and dad were preparing themselves for another mission, it seemed.

"You came by yourself? Good. I was about to drag you down here myself" Said the Meowstick.

"Your mother and I have been called for a quick mission, so we'll be heading out. It shouldn't matter too much though, as you are going with Agatha. Have fun, by the way" Added my dad.

"Sure! Good luck with your mission!" I said while stepping out.

"Bye!" My parents said.

Running, I headed to the center plaza, and soon enough, the Snorunt I call my friend was visible there, seemingly talking with Misty, who apparently decided to join us.

"Agatha! Misty!" I yelled.

Both of them turned to look at me. "Hey, girl!" Said Agatha.

"Hello there!" Greeted Misty.

"Hi there! What are you doing here, Misty? I thought you had something to do with your sis, didn't you?"

"Well, yeah...Turns out she doesn't know how to read calendars, so the competition is next week, and not today. Which means that I get to have this afternoon free! I hope you don't mind if I join you..."

"Not at all! The more, the merrier!"

She smiled.

"Anyway. What do you girls wanna do?" Asked Agatha.

"How about we sit here and talk for a bit? Then we could go to a cafe and drink something, I guess" Suggested Misty.

"That's a great idea!" I agreed.

"Yeah. Lets pick a bench before they are gone!" Added the Snorunt while running to one of the unoccupied benches at the plaza.

We sat down and our little gossip session began.

"Lets begin with the most important part" Agatha began with a teasing smile and looking at the Buizel.

"Agreed" I said while doing the same.

"...?"

"We have both seen how you look at Mark, Misty. Do you like him or something?"

"What?! No, of course not!" She said, while blushing madly.

"Your face says the opposite, though"

"S-Shut up!"

Both Agatha and me laughed. "If you say so..." That remark only added more redness to her already pink face.

"Alright, let's leave her be. Have you heard of the rumors about Them?" Said Agatha.

The sheer mention of Them sent a shiver down our spines.

"You mean the way that everything ended?" I inquired

She nodded.

"I heard them. Don't they say the leader of the whole organization was the one that betrayed it and managed to take it down from the inside?" Guessed Misty.

She nodded again.

"I'm honestly happy for that guy, whoever he is. Don't get me wrong though, I know he has done some things that are unforgivable, but he has at least realized his mistake and mended it somehow..." I added.

"It takes a lot of guts to do what he did, I'll give him that"

"Giving up everything to do the right thing? Yeah, you need a lot of those..."

Awkward silence fell over the group.

"How about we talk about another thing?" I broke the silence.

"Yeah"

"Agreed"

We ended up talking about today and our plans for the weekend. Apparently, Misty was going to visit her grandparents, a few towns away.

At least two hours have to had passed, and we still were laughing and talking about our things.

"Seriously, how can you even manage to pick things up without being on two legs?" Asked Misty, a bit confused.

"It's not that hard when you have been a quadruped for all your life, y'know? You end up getting used to it, whether you like it or not" I answered.

"I just can't wrap my head around it..."

"Hey, when I evolve I'll have two powerful arms, so you need not worry, dear!"

"That will be if you evolve. You need to be very mature to do that, and that doesn't happen until around your 20's. And sorry to tell you, but I don't think you'll mature anytime soon" Added Agatha.

"Hey! At least I won't need to search for a stone!"

All three of us bursted into laughter. It was fun to just be with your friends, without a care in the world.

That's when we noticed the amount of Pokémon running to one of the streets, yelling and pointing.

"What's going on?" Agatha questioned.

"I don't know, but I don't like it" Answered Misty.

"Let's go investigate"

Both of my friends nodded and we ran to see what was going on


(TW: Impplied suicide)

The sun was setting

It was a beautiful evening. Pidove were singing, flowers were blooming...In days like these, kids like us shouldn't be fighting our way through a huge group of Pokémon.

"I don't see anything!" Yelled Agatha above all of the noise.

"Me neither!" I added.

"What's happening?" Misty asked to one of the adults, a Hypno.

"Huh?" He said while looking at us. "What are you kids doing here? This is too serious for you"

"We just want to know what's happening!" Replied the Buizel.

"Someone is at the roof on the building. And by the looks of it, he's not using the stairs to come down..."

All of us gasped. "That's horrible! Isn't anyone even trying to help him?"

The Hypno just shrugged. "They tried, but he threatened with jumping if anyone got too close"

"That's terrible..." Said Agatha.

"Maybe we should go back? I can't watch this..." Asked Misty.

"Agreed. Lets get out of here, Ember"

...

"No way"

"Ember?"

Taking advantage of my small size, I slipped through the crowd of Pokémon.

"EMBER!"

I couldn't stand still seeing how someone was about to jump off a building while I was somewhere else, pretending it never happened.

If that Hypno was telling the truth, I wouldn't get too close, but I was going to try and save him, because, even if I am just a kid, my mind kept repeating the same thing over and over again:

If no one is going to do it, I'll have to do it by myself.

I grew more nervous as I walked up the stairs to the rooftop of the building. This was a serious matter, and I was just a kid, peering into places where I shouldn't. It was too late to turn back though.

Finally the stairs led me to a half opened door. Peeking through it, I saw the Pokémon in question. A Zoroark was standing near the border of the building.

I accidentally bumped into said door, making it creak. The Zoroark's ears perked up, and he looked back to the door.

"Who's there?!" He demanded.

His eyes were red, and down his face rolled tears. He looked...miserable.

As no one responded, he took a step towards the edge. "I already told you! Don't try to stop me, or I swear I'll jump!"

Fearing the worst, I slowly stepped from behind the door. When he saw me, his reddened eyes widened a bit.

"The hell's a kid doing here? This is not a fucking joke!" He warned before taking another step back.

"Wait!"

He stopped moving.

"I-I just want to help!"

He scoffed. "You? Help? It's too late for that!"

Panic was beggining to set. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what to say. The smallest of the mistakes could cost that Pokémon his life.

I shouldn't even be here. I-I should have just stayed down there.

I looked at the Zoroark in his eyes. Despite his attempt to look angry and serious, his eyes still had a glint of desperation and depression.

But I can't just let him down.

"B-But why? Why do you say it's too late?"

"Why do you even care?! You are a kid! You should be playing with your friends and not negotiating with a sucidal 'mon!"

"I care because my dream is to become an explorer, and that means helping people out! It's not only me who wants to help you, but everyone else! But we can't if I don't understand what's going on with you!"

The Zoroark looked surprised for a moment, and then softly laughed. "You are something else entirely, kid"

He looked to the side, as if thinking, and after a while, he finally spoke.

"I have done terrible things. Things you wouldn't even be able to imagine, and I felt no remorse at all. I-I pushed everyone who loved me away just for a stupid goal worthy of a supervillain, and now, they don't even want to see my ass anymore"

I took a small step towards him, making him recoil a bit, but otherwise remaining still.

"I...I had a girlfriend, you know? She was the best thing that happened in my life. She was shy, and cautious, but had the biggest heart in the world. She wouldn't even hurt a fly. The perfect girl. I pushed her into helping me with my ambitions, and because she was timid, she didn't want to at first, but she finally agreed, just because that would make me happy. After joining me, though, she was never the same again. She changed. I changed her. It was my fault"

Another step. This time, he didn't react. Tears were starting to roll down his face.

"I did what I should have done from the start. It was too late to just bail, so I...I had to take down the only thing, the only family that I had left, just to ensure no more harm would be done to the world"

Another pair of steps. The distance between me and the Zoroark had shrunk in half. I could now clearly see how he was crying.

He finally kneeled down, not bothering to hold it any longer.

"SO NOW WHAT?!" He yelled.

"That hell of a guild is gone now, but what happens to me now?! My family doesn't want to talk to me anymore. My friends are either gone, or hidden away Arceus knows where. My girlfriend thinks I'm a traitor, even worse than scum,..."

A pause. The crying had stopped, being replaced by the fox looking at his claws, with a mixture of confusion and grief.

"What's left for someone like me?"

That had done it. Without any more words, and with a gloomy look on his face, he turned around, and spoke one last time. "It was a pleasure meeting you, kiddo. Good luck with your dream" He said walking to the edge again.

Panic and a mixture of dread and sadness made me act without thinking.

"Stop!" I said running after him. I jumped and latched onto his leg. That made him stop and look down at me. Now I was the one crying.

"You-You can't do this! You can't just jump off! There-There has to be something we can do! Please...you can't..."

"Look, I appreciate what you are trying to do. It's cool to see that at least someone still gives a damn about me, but things in life don't always end up in a happy way. You already demonstrated guts by getting up here, but there is nothing you can do"

He picked me up and took me from his leg, throwing me onto the ground. "Now, please, don't make this any difficult" He added while turning around.

An Ember attack passed just near his leg. With yet another confused look, he turned around.

Seeing me in a battle stance, he frowned, and this time, his expression changed into an angry one. "What do you think you are doing?"

"I-I won't let you. If you want to jump, you'll have to knock me out first"

He scoffed again. "Kid, I'm not in the mood for this type of things. Just go away, for fuck's sake"

Another Ember.

His mouth twitched a bit. "You are starting to annoy me, you know? Last warning, girl. Now, for the love of Arceus. Leave. Me. Alone" He said before giving me his back.

I shouldn't have done what I did, but the fear of that Zoroark jumping off took ahold of me, and I shot another Ember.

The Zoroark just disappeared in a flash before the attack could hit him, and appeared behind me, before using Night Daze, knocking me down onto the floor, almost making me faint.

"Warned ya" He snarled

Everything hurt, and my vision was blurry. Something neither of us expected was the fact that I slowly stood up, and faced him.

"I said... you'll have...to knock me out"

This time, he fired a Dark Pulse, launching me back a big distance. I somehow found the strength to stand up again, despite the sharp pain I felt on my front right paw and my raspy breathing.

"Just listen...to me...please"

This time, he looked confused, but still held his ground. Another Dark Pulse. Despite hitting me, the attack was much weaker. I didn't know if it was hesitation or just a way to make sure he didn't accidentally kill me.

It was getting harder and harder to get up every time.

"Why?!" He yelled. Another attack, and another time I was knocked down. This time, however, I didn't stand up.

"Why do you keep trying?! You are just a kid!"

"Because good explorers never give up. No matter how hard the task, they never give up" I slowly got on my paws. "As should you"

"What?"

"You can't give up. No matter what life throws at you, you can't give up. You have to be strong. I'm sure at least someone has to care about you, because...I do"

At this point, any sign of agression disappeared from the Zoroark's face.

I extended my paw towards him. "Please, let us help you. I-I know there is a way, please!"

He eyed my paw as if it were some sort of weapon. After what felt like hours, he began chuckling between sobs.

"You are the first one that has cared about me in a long fuckin' time, kid. There's been loads of guys coming here to persuade me, and every single one of them did it just because it's their job. But you, you came here, knowing well that you are just a kid, that you have no need at all. You didn't do it because you had to. You did it because you really cared. I-..."

"Thank you" He finished.

...

"Does that mean...?"

"Yeah, I'll give it a shot. Jumping off places is overrated anyway"

A smile began forming in my muzzle.

"Really?!"

"Yeah. I think I owe you one. A big one, kid. What's your name?"

"Ember. What's yours?"

"I'm Kit. Nice to meet you"


"Honey!"

Before I could even put a step out the door, I was already being hugged by both of my parents.

"You are ok! When Agatha told us you went up there, we didn't know what to do!"

"We were so worried!"

"It's fine, mom! It's fine, dad!"

After some much appreciated hugs, my parents finally let me free and dropped me onto the ground...only to get punched by Agatha and Misty.

"What the hell were you thinking?!"

"We were so worried when you ran away!"

"Sorry girls...I just couldn't stand still watching how someone was about to take their own life away, you know?"

"Wait, where is..."

Mom couldn't finish the sentence, as Kit walked from behind me, and, after giving me a quick nod, ran away as fast as he could.

"Was he..."

"Yep" I plainly said. It hurt me to see Kit just run away, but I supposed he just needed some time to think. Hopefully, I would see him again someday.

"Wait, did you...?" Began my dad.

"Yep"

Suddenly, I was being hugged again. This time, however, it was even tighter.

"You saved someone's life!"

"Honey, we are so proud of you!"

It was hard to even breathe, but I managed to answer. "It was...the right...thing to do. Please, I think I broke something..."

"Excuse me"

Dad dropped me to the ground again, and we looked towards the source of the voice. A Raichu, wearing a guard cap, was standing near us.

"Did any of you happen to see where the Pokémon was headed?"

"He went over there. He's a Zoroark, and his name is Kit" I answered, pointing to were Kit had ran off to.

"Thank you!" He said before running after him.

When the Raichu had disappeared from our view, I asked. "He is not going to take him to prison, is he?"

"No, honey. They are following him to make sure he gets the help he needs"

"Thank Arceus" I sighed before starting to laugh. "I-I was so scared up there..."

"We know, honey, we know"

"Lets go home now. Hope you don't mind us stealing your friend, girls?"

"Nah. I think she needs to rest" Answered Misty.

"Just wait until we tell everyone at school!" Added Agatha.

And with that, and after a wave, I was walking back home behind my parents.

I can't believe it. I actually saved someone. I can't imagine what he had to go through to want to do something like that. I hope he gets help.

Or else, I'll have to help him.


END OF SE 1!

Hey everyone, sorry for the delay. At the time you are reading this, the story has been slightly (or very signigicantly for one part of Chapter 6) rewritten.

Also, summer is approaching, and I just wanted to warn you all that over the last days of June and almost all of July I won't be able to write, so expect a hiatus for those months.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter, and remember to tell me how I could improve it! This was my first time writing a strong chapter like this.

Lastly, thanks everyone who has been reading this until now. Love y'all, and until we meet again!