The cool night air seeped into Furret Abigail's fur. She shivered moving about in her room doing random things instead of reading like she normally would. Most of it was anticipation, but the slight tingle in the air prevented her from settling down.

Bellossom Helen came up to her room, decorated with small, bright pink flowers on her floral dress and a small, silver necklace. Abigail looked up and down fast in her direction when she came through the door, unsure what to say.

"You ready?" Helen asked.

"Uh, yah," Abigail said.

"Alright."

Abigail watched Helen turn around and head down the ramp to the first floor. She adjusted her brown cape to cover herself up from the night air better and pulled down on her necklace to make it look nice. She breathed in deep, then exited.

Bumper to bumper traffic congested the streets. Furret Abigail clutched her cape and necklace close to her, occasionally pointing her face up to get a breath of the freshest air she likely ever would tonight.

Any electric carriages that would normally be on the road were gone. The empty space in the roads meant for them were filled with pokemon instead. The noise stopped Abigail from talking to Bellossom Helen, but she had promised her that the place they would watch from would be comfortable. Her friends, apparently from high school, that helped Abigail apparently picked the spot strategically.

Abigail could recognize the building before they were moving straight towards it. It was a salon; a rectangular white building in the middle of the maze that stood a tad taller than its neighbors. The bottom floor appeared empty, but cone lights on the ceiling shed light across the tan, wood floor.

Helen opened the door. Inside, Breloom Anne paced back and forth a little as she stared off into space until she heard the door open. She smiled.

"I think we might have two winners after all," Anne said.

"Oh, stop," Helen smiled. "You look good too, Anne."

Abigail agreed. Anne had a necklace of the same small pink flowers on Helen's dress. As she turned, Abigail noticed a steel ladder behind her going through an open square hole in the ceiling. She turned to Helen and nodded for her to climb up first.

Abigail waited for her to reach the top before climbing up herself. The cold bars chilled her paws and feet, but they were cold to begin with.

After climbing up, Abigail's gaze went upwards. Stars came out in full force again tonight. They seemed fainter, but she still managed to pick out a constellation or two. Breloom Anne closing the lid of the roof snapped her out of it.

Even colder than the ladder, the top of the roof left Abigail rubbing her arms for warmth. Towards the front edge of the roof Salazzle Eleanor, Snubbull Maria, and Pancham Mary covered themselves with soft, brown blankets sitting on small cushions. They were also wearing the same small, pink flowers around their necks.

There were three more cushions that weren't taken. Abigail took the one in the center with Helen and Mary on her sides. She stretched out, then curled her tail around.

"Not bad, right?" Pancham Mary asked. "Excited?"

"I guess. Getting a close look isn't bad," said Furret Abigail. "So, uhm. How are you all doing?"

"I was having a rough day here with a few customers yesterday," Breloom Anne said. Her hands fell on her legs as she sat down with them crossed. "I'm relieved I have a break."

"People can get pretty nasty when it comes to looking just right," Snubbull Maria sighed. "Pretty nasty."

"How nasty we talkin' about?" asked Mary.

Anne only chuckled to herself, further intriguing the others. Abigail wouldn't mind hearing, either.

"Ok," she said, "alright. I'll tell you. It was a Clefairy. She was being snotty and rude the whole time. And I don't even think she noticed."

"How?" asked Salazzle Eleanor.

"She was on her phone the whole time. Never even looked at me. Talking in sentences with only verbs and stuff. And when she did look at me, she looked at me like…"

Anne reared her head back with her gritted teeth showing.

"You're goin' easy," said Mary. "Tell us the good story."

"Well... Okay… There was this Vulpix who yelled at me. She said I didn't make her fur shiny enough, but she ended up just being covered head to toe in the gel at the end and then got mad at me for being too shiny. After the second outburst, I just sent her out into the street like that. I wish I was more patient."

"Patience is what she was missing," Snubbull Maria said, waving her paw down. "Don't worry so much about it. She earned that herself."

"I can't imagine much practice for patience being around here," said Abigail. "You don't really have to wait to get just about anything."

"Yah, definitely," said Eleanor.

Breloom Anne continued to tell a few more stories, but Abigail lost focus staring down at the streets. She had never seen it this active. She was pretty satisfied just watching it from a distance.

"The parade's starting soon, so all I'll say is that they just broke up in the middle of my store," Anne finished.

"Yikes," Pancham Mary grimaced, "what do you even do?"

"Silently hope they leave," she replied. "Or called the Nightlights and just kind of hope they laugh it off."

Anne continued to tell stories, starting a long, long trend. Abigail didn't really want to tell her stories, but she was happy to listen to them while she looked out over the street. The pink, blue, and yellow banners shone under the night sky, making waving colors as they blew in the wind. They hung between and from buildings, acting as a miniature second sky.

Abigail listened to them talk about stories of people they had to deal with during their work for a few hours. She had a few stories herself, but she preferred how the conversation moved without her. Most of them were only fun in third person, anyways.

Eventually, there was a bit of a lull while they were eating some snacks Anne had in her salon. As time passed, the movement on the street started to settle on either side.

"Where is the parade starting from?" Abigail asked.

"Not sure. It's really long, so it should be visible soon," Bellossom Helen said.

"I'm checkin on it now on my phone," Pancham Mary said.

"Oh, so their identities are out?" Snubbull Maria asked.

"Identities?" Abigail asked.

"You know. Like, who they are. This means that they're officially leaders now."

"Okay," Mary said. "Got it right here. The Veritan prince is named Zen. He's a Buizel. He looks nice."

"Abigail probably needs a little crazy in a man, though," Bellossom Helen said.

"Uhm… What?" Abigail asked, turning to her.

"Next," Mary said. "Gawain Acuity. A Quilava. Oh. Looks like the Acuitans took the extreme route after all."

"Extreme route?" Abigail asked.

"It means he didn't know he was actually a prince till yesterday," Mary said.

"Oh… Oh, geez."

"Panic attack central, seriously. Okay. Last one is from valor. A- Oh!"

"What is it?" Salazzle Eleanor asked.

"Shiny gene!" her hand quivered painting at the screen. "He has the shiny gene!"

The pokemon all gathered around. Abigail got a little squished, but she leaned in close to the Pancham's small phone to be able to see.

"Aaron Valor. Shiny Zorua," Mary said. "Now that is just… Wow."

"Awesome," Bellossom Helen said. "Is that a first?"

"I think so…!"

The pokemon backed off. Abigail swore a few of them noticed her tensed face, but it was hard to tell.

"I'm curious what a parade looks like," Abigail said.

"Haven't you seen a movie with a parade in it?" Pancham Mary asked.

"A movie?"

The pokemon looked down the row at Furret Abigail a short moment before she backtracked.

"Oh, those. Right. I know movies. Yah," she stuttered, "but, uhm. No. I only saw a spy movie… Movies."

"You'll see. It's kind of like celebratory marching."

"I know what a parade is. Just haven't seen one."

A jolt of energy interrupted Abigail's fatigue. Pokemon were coming from down the street, and they were making a lot of noise. The glow from the pink, blue, and yellow flags being held started to reach them. The green, copper lampposts on the street almost seemed unnecessary.

"So, uhm, who's marching?" Abigail asked.

"Lots of celebrities that were invited by the Royal Families," Helen explained. "All of them do charity work, etcetera… Lots of performers, really."

"So, is that up ahead, like, the first wave?"

"Yup!"

"So, do you recognize any of them?"

Helend leaned on the edge of the roof, scanning up and down the street. "Not yet. I don't really keep up, though."

The initial cheers as they made their way down were drowned out in music. Abigail couldn't even identify the genre; all of the noise stung her ears and forced them to retreat flat on her head.

Large and small species of pokemon walked side by side, but not quite as orderly as a march would be. Lots of them were moving around the sides of the street, talking with pokemon that were watching with happy faces and passing out snacks.

Abigail felt hungry looking at them.

"Uhm, do we have any snacks?" Abigail asked.

"Leroy," Pancham Mary said.

Snubbull Maria shouldered Mary, eliciting giggles. Abigail focused to try and pick out who she was talking about. An open wagon with pokemon on top came into view.

"I'm sorry, okay!? Just look at him!"

Abigail watched Mary's arm pointing at a Persian with shiny fur. He prowled around on top of an open wagon with a smile on his face. The way he held his smile looked gross.

It became grosser when the Persian's smile bounced across them and stayed on Abigail.

"Ew," Abigail shrunk down behind the tiny wall on the edge of the roof for a second. "I think he looked at me."

"What?" Helen asked. "Abigail, he was just looking around."

"He looks like onion potato chips dude. Ugh."

Helen looked at Abigail with her eyes raised high and her mouth hanging lower, but didn't say anything.

"He's a rapper," Mary said. "Does amazing work, and just with freestyle. He just does it on the fly. Oh, and that's…"

Mary kept talking. Abigail popped her head back up. The wagon passed by them, but a line of more wagons extended as far down as she could see.

"They're actually moving at a good clip till they get closer to the inner city," Maria said. "The prince's wagon will be impossible to miss."

"Of course," Salazzle Eleanor agreed. "The amount of guards will be huge. That's all the royalty on the continent. The wood's probably sacred if it isn't solid gold."

"Looks like solid gold," said Helen.

Abigail leaned in with the others to look further down the street. A forest of lights bounced off the walls up ahead. The roars from that area were loud enough to shake pebbles of concrete on the ground, and high-pitched.

"They must've split up the parade," Mary speculated. "Maybe have different parts go around different areas."

"Okay, Abigail! Stand up so they can see you!" Helen said.

"They're not even here yet…" she argued.

Bellossom Helen stood up and pulled up on Furret Abigail's arm. She conceded and stood up with her. Now that she had a better view, she saw how fast the marchers were moving. Little chance existed that they would actually see her up there.

"So, what do you want me to do?" Abigail asked.

"Just look chill," Mary said.

"So fake. Give em a smile!" Helen said.

"Sing as loud as you can," Salazzle Eleanor said. "Well, if it won't hurt anybody. You sound like a singer."

"Well, I guess… Thanks, but I think just smiling and waving is more… normal?" Abigail said.

"Just be yourself," Snubbull Maria said. "How do you normally greet someone new?"

"Well, usually I ask my adoptive mother's friends on how to greet them and wait for them to give me some advice."

Helen rolled her eyes and smiled, shaking her head.

The pokemon marching side by side in front were all clearly guards. Their badges and accessories mixed in together, showing they were from all different nations marching side by side. Their long, formal strides demonstrated their practice.

The wagon stood out from the rest. It boasted twice the size and gleaming decorations, and it was pulled by pokemon instead of electricity. Its wheels were the same, but various pink, blue, and yellow flowers outlined the top of it. The wood glistened under the light from the buildings and phones being held up towards it.

Four cushions with blue, yellow, and pink rimming rested at the back edge of the wagon. A Mightyena sat on the blue cushion with his paws folded and a stoic expression on his face. A Samurott and Serperior took two pink cushions. The Samurott held his face behind the Seperior's, looking wherever she did. An Umbreon rested on the last yellow cushion, lying down just like Mightyena He stared off to the sky.

The rest of the crowd followed the three pokemon: A Buizel, shiny Zorua, and Quilava.

Buizel waved down at the crowd. When he turned, Abigail saw his teeth gleaming as bright as the lights around him. Quilava waved down too, with a lot less energy and stiffer motions.

The shiny Zorua looked insane. He wore a big, one-sided smile on his face as he snicker. He played along with other pokemon in the crowd, copying some of their faces and responding to others.

Just a few other teenage girls sat on the bottom edge of the wagon, decked out in so much jewelry, Abigail couldn't identify some of their species. Abigail smiled and nodded.

"Okay," Abigail said, "I think that's a wrap."

"Oh c'mon," Helen sighed. "You know what? Just for that, we're making sure someone's ears pop off."

"Uhhhhmmmm… Please don't."

"We're on a mission."

Furret Abigail kept her eyes on the princes. They were a little fun to watch.

Noise struck her ears.

The pokemon behind Abigail started yelling. She flinched and grabbed her ears. It might have been the close distance, but they made the loudest noise she had heard in years. No one in the crowds below reacted like Abigail did, but the princes at least glanced in their direction.

Their eyes got stuck. Abigail tried to retreat back, but she got locked in place from the pokemon behind her. She didn't want to force herself back, even though she did want to.

Zorua lifted a paw and waved. Abigail waved back, about ten times more stiff.

"Show some enthusiasm, Abigail…!" Bellossom Helen hissed.

"Uh, do you have a bottle of that stuff for me to show?" Abigail asked.

Buizel waved to her, bringing his arm back towards him.

He was waving for her to come down.

"Oh my gosh. Oh my. Oayk," Bellossom huffed, "Anne?"

Breloom had already opened the hatch leading to the first floor.

"This is happening…" Mary muttered.

"Yyyyyyyyyup…" Abigail said.

Abigail was pushed in the back towards the ladder. She understood the hurry and took over. She slid down the ladder and went towards the door with the Breloom not far behind.

The backs of a Blastoise and Fraxure blocked the doorway, but they both moved out of the way. A Braixen with a long indigo scarf around her neck thanked them and looked at Abigail as she pulled the glass door open. She noticed that the scarf had all three emblems of Valor, Verity, and Acuity near the edge of it.

"Hi," Braixen said. "Follow me. Can I get a name?"

Furret Abigail followed as she turned her back. "Uhm, Abigail Frisk. Is this, uh…"

"Yup. We're going to have you sit on the wagon. Right this way, Abigail."

Abigail glanced back. Breloom Anne waved, but she didn't have the chance to wave back before the pokemon blocked her view inside. She took in a shaking breath as they walked out on the street.

The enormous, shining wagon paraded right in front of the building. A curtain of flowers on the wagon's edge overlord where Braixen gestured her to sit. When she did, Abigail looked back towards the roof.

Bellossom Helend stood on the edge of the roof, waving and smiling. Abigail offered a meek wave back.

The princes were still moving about over her. Most of the eyes from onlookers were aimed high over her head, but Abigail still shrunk down her neck. She looked down the line and took a look at the other pokemon sitting on the edge with her. The closest one was a Magby, possibly. Abigail couldn't tell from the bright white dress and jewelry covering all of her limbs. It made Abigail look down at her gold necklace and short brown cape again.

She stuck out. The rest of the pokemon down the line looked like they all took glitter baths.

There was a noise behind Abigail's head. When she turned back, shiny Zorua's mystical red eyes met hers. He held his mouth shut then opened it again, taking a moment before using it to speak.

"Hi," Zorua said. "I'm Aaron."

"Hello…" she said, swishing her tail. "I'm Abigail."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Aaron."

Abigail fell silent when he repeated himself. He did too, but his facial expressions seemed to rebound.

"So, are you from around here?" Aaron asked.

"Well, I'm from the countryside. Pretty far into it, apparently."

Abigail gestured towards the other pokemon sitting along the edge and then to herself. Aaron snickered.

"Well, you never know," Aaron said. "They might just be from high in a few towers."

Abigail smiled. "So, where are you from?"

"The people," he said, smiling back. "There's this whole ceremony thing at the end, but let's talk later. On the ground."

Aaron's face lifted back up towards the crowds. He continued to wave and moved a little further away before Abigail could think of anything to say.

Abigail reclined back and took in the view. The banners combined with street lights outshone the starry sky. The carriage passed by filled restaurants with outdoor seating, neighborhoods and apartment buildings with pokemon waving from every window, and a never-ending line of onlookers.

After an hour, the carriage went further into the city. The skyscrapers and tall buildings caused a slight change in temperature. Abigail folded her cape further around herself and rubbed her arms. She couldn't see her own breath, but she wished she knew to bring something more to wear.

In the dead center of it all, a black tower with neon lights flowing up its corners like veins trumped them all. Most skyscrapers seemed to have ten or so floors, but the Nightlight Association tower trumped them all with fifty.

The wagon traveled in a closing spiral around the Nightlight Association's tower. Although the N.A. shared similarities from the Guilds it was based from, they had additional duties as a governmental service on every single floor. They managed roads, construction, and acted as law enforcement as "the modern-day Guild". The tower Dome-shaped buildings called Nightlight Domes complemented it throughout the city, but were more geared towards law enforcement.

Considering how the wagon inched closer, Abigail guessed that the ceremony would happen in the plaza in front of the tower. With how tired she felt, she would've nodded off if the city didn't hold a small buzz in her chest.

A Scizor with an eyepatch ran in the center of the road in front of the wagon and started to break dance. He spun on his head with his legs spinning like a Hitmontop, then transitioned back to standing and cartwheeled off of the road. Abigail joined the crowd clapping for him. The carriage even seemed to slow down to let him finish.

The ride continued for another hour. Abigail hoped that the ceremony would be short. At least it seemed to be soon.

The wagon pulled forward towards the plaza from one last street leading directly to the front of the building. The street opened wider than any other they had been on, and so were the crowds. The noise forced her to curl up on the edge and hide from the mob of eyes. The roar of the crowd shook through her fur and rumbled in her bones.

The circular area of the plaza stretched around the base of the tower. It was mostly made up of empty space, but there were four large marble fountains with water shooting up in the air on each side. White barriers set up around the tower created a thick wall of pokemon around the perimeter. Furret Abigail had a lot more room to swing her feet off the edge, but still couldn't breathe easy just yet.

A Sunflora came to the edge of the carriage towards her while other pokemon came for the others. She extended her leafy arm, offering to help Abigail down. Abigail shook her head with a silent "thanks" on her lips and hopped down herself. She followed Sunflora and the wave of other pokemon towards one of the marble fountains.

The gentle stars in the sky reflected off of the water's rippling surface. They were pushed into a line facing towards it with Abigail somewhere in the middle of it.

Abigail back towards the wagon. Mightyena had stood up and walked to the center of the wagon. He waited for the crowd to fall quiet.

"Tonight is a celebration of Valorian, Veritan, and Acuitan lives that have gathered here today. We are proud of our sons for coming so far in learning humility, leadership, and life lessons here they couldn't have learned anywhere else. And as they begin their search for lifelong friends, allies, and partners that could be found here tonight, we also celebrate and take a brief look into the lives of our people that helped to shape this beautiful place that made it all possible. Let us begin!"

The crowd applauded. A Vulpix at the front of the line stepped forward. Abigail only got a glance of her tails trying to look past the pokemon in front of her, but even just her tails looked shiny and smooth. When she stepped onto the rim of the fountain, the pokemon on the sides brought forward a wooden platform floating on the fountain's water. Vulpix stepped onto it.

A Venusaur's vine pushed and guided the platform further into the water. With the extra distance, Abigail could see the Vulpix's long pink scarf leaving a trail of ripples and splashes. She wore a silver and gold tiara, gold teardrop earrings, a necklace like a honeycomb, and gold rings on most of her fingers.

A bracelet stuck out to Abigail; a black, metallic bracelet that seemed out of place. She only got a far look, but it looked like some kind of tool rather than jewelry.

A Beheeyem and Gothitelle's bodies started to glow with Psychic energy on the sides of the fountain. A few others went towards the edge, pouring small gray cloth bags of differently colored powders into the water. As the colors and water swirled, everyone fell quiet.

The edge of Abigail's fur tingled. The fountain was short on the ground, so she had a clear view as the water molded itself into a painting of green foliage dotted with flowers. A voice emanated through the air as if it was the water speaking.

"I was born in the mountains. My heart's still running with my dad in flower fields, even though he's retired himself to working nonstop trying to make some sort of point. I've been lucky in life, but all I want to do is go back to the flower fields with whoever the love of my life is."

The water shifted and became gray.

"The city's… okay. But I want to go back to living in a world where life's natural."

The voice seemed to fade away with the color glowing in the water. The Gothitelle pulled the wooden platform with the Vulpix on top towards herself across the water. Vuplix was lying down and looked tired.

Furret Abigail looked behind her, wondering what that even was.

"Miss…?" a quiet voice asked.

Abigail turned to the voice. A Leavanny stood on her left, part of the pokemon surrounding the line. She took a step forward with Abigail as the line advanced.

"Is something wrong?" Leavanny asked.

"Uhm… How does this… ceremony work?" Abigail asked quietly.

"They'll give you a bracelet. It helps for Psychic type pokemon to show some memories by using the pokemon's energy."

"O-oh…" Abigail fell silent and looked ahead, then swiveled her head back. "So, what if a pokemon has a lot of energy? Like, if they were an arena fighter or something?"

"Well, we haven't had anyone as strong as that try it, but I suppose it would mean the memories would be a lot more vivid."

"Damn…"

Leavanny just barely didn't hear her. Abigail sighed in relief, but stress started to sink in. If Helen had mentioned memory reading, she would've skipped out way earlier. Now, there wasn't even a way for her to bolt.

Up next, a Bulbasaur with a crown of flowers and gold bracelets on all four limbs stepped up to the platform. The same process happened: the colors swirled and made an image accompanied by a voice.

"I was born in the inner city. Every morning, I tell myself I am beautiful, strong, and heroic. I believe in myself. I am worthy of anyone's love. My parents used to tell me that I wasn't every day, But thanks to my friends, I know that I'm beautiful, strong, and heroic."

The color and voice vanished again. Bulbasaur was brought to the side, then the platform was sent back towards the front of the line.

Next in line: a Pikachu wearing a short pink skirt and gold earrings. Abigail's heart jumped.

There wasn't anyone else in front of her and the marble fountain's sleek edge after Pikachu hopped up. More were in line behind her than she thought.

Pikachu closed her eyes when she sat in the center of the water. The water's color changed and created a picture of a rectangular brick building sitting in the center of a street.

"I'm the most popular girl in school. I have success in my future. My parents think that I need more experiences, but they're just stupid. I know what's best for me. I'm more than worthy of princes, and soon someone will realize that. I rock."

Abigail cringed, but kept her face straight in case anyone saw. She waited for Pikachu to go all the way to the ground until boarding the new, bigger platform they brought for her.

Leavanny gave her the bracelet. She wrapped it around her arm and closed it around her wrist. Abigail felt it doing something with her energy, but she didn't recognize the electric feeling. She hopped up on the platform in a single, smooth motion and sat down like a statue.

The Venusaur's vines pushed the platform out to the center of the water. She looked down on the surface of the water. Her head started swimming.

A few of the crops were wilting; a small patch of sunflowers faster than anything else. With one less mouth to feed and person to work, it felt like a void greeted Sentret Abigail every morning on her way out the door.

Her mother leaned over the railing. The Furret's hat shaded her face from the midday sun. Extra lines were around her eyes. She had been going to sleep after Abigail recently.

"Mom?" Abigail asked.

"Nothing yet."

Abigail asked about dad every day. She asked about a lot of things, but her mother could always tell when she was asking about him.

She was about to take a step down the ramp to the ground.

"Wait."

Abigail stopped at the edge and turned back around to her mother. Her mother was staring back like she just realized something.

"Abigail," Furret said, "what do you think about fighting?"

"Fighting? Uhm, I dunno…"

"Do you think it's…. Well, could you see yourself becoming a fighter?"

Abigail never gave it much thought before. She just shrugged a little. "I don't know."

At dusk, Furret was back close to the railing. Sentret Abigail had waddled back up the ramp with her, tired from the day's work. She put in a lot of extra effort, but she couldn't make up her dad's amount of work.

Her mother stopped in front of the door and turned around. Her face drooped down as if it would fall off from underneath her sunhat.

"Abigail," her mom said, "your father's not coming back home soon."

Abigail took a deep breath in.

It's what she expected. The answer had been settling in for weeks from her mom's face. The Sentret walked forward and hugged the Furret. She bent down and hugged her back. Abigail wasn't crying.

"But that doesn't mean there isn't a way," her mom said. "I just don't want to give you any false hope, but I don't want to pretend like this small chance doesn't exist."

Abigail lifted her face.

"The Overlord of the Nightlights can pardon life sentences."

"Overlord?" Abigail asked. "What's that?"

"It's their leader."

"So, you want to go to the city and try to like… work your way up?

"They'd know why I'd want the job. They wouldn't let me. It has to be you."

"But, I can't fight or… I don't even know anything about them."

"I'll teach you. But we should just go inside and eat right now. You have time to think about if you really want to go for such a small chance."

Abigail loved her father. First, she proved it with one thousand strikes a day against an old oak tree in the woods, and two-hundred and fifty of four different strikes with her arms, legs, and tail. In the evening, she proved it with studying as her body felt like it was falling apart. It continued for weeks, although her strikes changed every week or so. They were all simple, rotating her practice with different muscle groups in her body and the way she hit objects until it didn't sting to punch solid objects.

Her mother helped Abigail understand some of the books. A lot of them went over her head until her actual reading skills improved.

After she mastered all of the different strikes over several months, her mother helped her to learn defense. The different movements on her feet to dodge and take hits. They had plenty of downtime during the winter to practice her form until it was perfect, then keep practicing. Working on form irritated her since she couldn't feel the end results until real battles, but she advanced a lot more with her studying.

Next spring, Abigail trained to increase her power in an apple grove with dark, rich soil. She altered between long distance running and sprinting and upper body strength with the help of a log from a small fallen tree on different days. Somehow, her muscles themselves turned out to be the easier part of the process.

Energy, which pokemon used to use moves, were also used in their muscles. Abigail had never done much with it took the whole summer to try and get the feeling just right. Her mother couldn't help her with this, which might've been why it took so long for her to just use even simple moves.

The results were worth it.

Because Abigail's muscles and skills were already trained, her strikes immediately began to splinter small tree trunks. And then she could catch the trees when they fell. And somehow, it only got better from there.

After that summer and winter, everything changed again, and not just her evolution into a Furret like her mom. She said that Abigail's progress would just come as she grew up and continued to train, so she needed something extra to keep learning new things; something that she wasn't going to provide entirely by herself.

As an explorer, her mom had old friends: Yen, Lauren, Joshua, and Sarah. Every day was different than the last, and Abigail got addicted.

Even with all of the training she did, Abigail had practice battles with whichever of them was available that day. Over time, her favorite, Sarah, reminded her of her dad.

It made her impatient.

It was drizzling out. Abigail walked side by side with her mom in a shaded section of the woods. Tension hung between them. Abigail stopped just next to a tree, and her mother turned around expectantly.

"I want to go to him now," Abigail said.

"You need more time," her mom said. "It's not about your skill, believe me. You just need to wait until you're just a little bit older. You're not fully matured yet."

"Why do I need to be fully 'matured' to go get him?"

"You're not old enough to understand."

"Oh what the hell! Really!?" Abigail yelled. "I'm ready to get my dad back!"

"I know. Just a little longer."

Strangely, her mom looked tired.

The lobby inside the Nightlight Tower was dark and bright at the same time, thanks to cold, metallic black floors and bright white ceiling lights. Furret Abigail arrived through the sliding glass doors on a chilly night. Dozens of small black tables with blue rims were set up.

A Sandslash idled behind one. Abigail approached her.

"H-hi," Abigail said. "Looking to try out."

Sandslash smiled and nodded, making up for Abigail's quiet voice. "Alright, sure! Just a few questions and-"

"Actually," Abigail said, "I do have a question. Is it possible to see the status of, uh, inmates?"

"Oh, well… Is there a particular prisoner whose name you'd like me to look up?"

"My-" Abigail cleared her throat. "Rick Frisk."

Sandslash nodded. The surface of the table lit up as a screen. Abigail watched her scroll through screens she didn't recognize at all with the tips of her claws on the screen.

"You said Frisk?" Sandslash asked.

"Yes. Rick Frisk," Abigail repeated.

"Okay… It says here that Rick Frisk… A Lombre, right?"

"Yes…?"

"Okay… It says here he died about two years ago in an accident. It was-"

"Sorry?" she asked. "Rick Frisk. He should be…"

"Yes, I see him," said Sandslash. "He passed away two years ago. It-"

Abigail went deaf. She covered her open mouth and bent over.

"Miss? Do you need help…?" Sandslash asked.

"No…"

Abigail turned and walked away. Sandslash called back to her, but she stormed out.

"After that, my mom went missing. She must've known he died, and tried to spare me since I was so involved with my training. And all of my other teachers. It's been about… a year and a half since I last saw her when I left out for the city. I don't really like thinking about it. I mean, she knew and didn't share it with me. She had to have known."

The night sky bled down on beat up buildings that were half-standing. Loose and broken bricks were scattered all over the street that weeds bust through. There were even some small trees growing next to the sidewalk.

A Monferno and Whismicott stood under the last working lamppost on the street.

"My favorite thing nowadays… Running into illegal weapons trades. Those are pretty fun. They actually have something to, like, hit back a little bit. Nothing incredible, but I love it. It's just a little spicy. Not like muggers who are all scrawny…"

"Who are you?" Monferno asked. "You some kinda Nightlight?"

Abigail smiled with her teeth gritted. "No. You're not that lucky."

"I mean, what was I supposed to do? The streets I were living on were chock full of crime, so of course I busted out a few bounty hunting strats. It was annoying. So every time there's a call for help, or something on the news, my hobby is to take it from there.

"I didn't plan to become a vigilante. But, I… had to get it off my mind somehow, and this is what I've been doing to do that all these years. My dad was always helping everyone he met, and my mom was a legendary explorer. I've come here from a long line of selflessness, and since I'm in this gross pit, that's where that line belongs for right now.

"I'll become the North Star in the sky for explorers. For people who are joining that line."

Furret Abigail opened her eyes to a different sky. The sky turned orange and red, but the stars were still visible somehow. She stood on top of cloudy, white marble with black and brown marks scattered across it. Past the edge of the square platform, a field of shining water reflecting the orange sky reached all the way to the horizon.

Abigail stood up, looking around the sight in awe until she heard a noise behind her.

A Cinccino with deep blue eyes stood poised. Her outstretched arm held a lavender object like a sword facing her. Right in front of Abigail's eyes, a deep blue, sharp mask grew onto Cinccino's face in an instant.

"You're like me," Cinccino said. Her stable, deep voice unnerved her.

"What is this?" a voice asked. Abigail recognized it as the Mightyena's voice from earlier.

"It's not a memory. I don't know what's happening," another said. "Her energy is strong from all of that training. It's making so much visible, but this isn't normal."

"Uhm, should I be worried about this?" Abigail asked. "If this isn't normal?"

"Wait... She can hear us... This is happening now! This isn't a memory. That shouldn't be the case," a voice said. "There is something… happening. I don't understand."

Cinccino rushed forward. Abigail had never seen the speed she possessed. She focused in on her weapon when she felt the intense energy from it wash over her body like a heat wave. One glance, and she could tell it would hurt.

Abigail managed to sidestep her initial dash forward and backed away from her quick swings. As it raced in front of her, it left streaks of heat in the air she could still feel from three paces away, long after the horn wasn't there anymore.

"Dad, what do we do?" the Zorua's voice asked.

"I don't know!" a gruff voice said. "Everyone stay calm! One way or another, this is inside her mind. I don't think there's a threat…"

"We don't know that!"

After ducking under a swing, Abigail punched Cinccino's exposed side. She didn't flinch from it at all. Instead, she spun around with a roundhouse kick that went straight into her chest. She continued to chase while Abigail tried to get back on her feet. She barely made it up in time.

After swiveling around another swing, Furret punched again. Cinccino caught her hand. With a single arm, Cinccino threw Abigail above her body and slammed her to the ground, slicing at her body with her other arm.

Furret Abigail used Iron Tail to try to take the swing, but the pain still shot up through her whole body. When she yelled, Cinccino paused and started walking in a circle around her while Abigail struggled on the ground trying to move.

"Very slow… Probably just because of the time passing. But, impressive lasting power against a Scion. We're impressed."

Water broke up into the air. Winds whipped Cinccino's fur in random directions.

Abigail got up off the ground shakily and looked above them. A huge white pokemon landed on the ground as the wind settled. It had a blue belly and a dragon's body, with its enormous wings appearing as hands. Abigail couldn't turn her body up to look at its face.

Abigail recognized the wings; the symbol of the Nightlight Association.

"This is fine for now," Cinccino said, "we'll continue next time."

Abigail fell over into cold water. A dull tired feeling weighed her down. The colors were dark and muddled at first, but grew to be a bright orange and yellow color.

A vine from a pokemon reached down into the water. She grabbed it and tugged it by the hand, prompting it to pull her up. She took a deep breath when her head popped above the water.

A Venusaur held onto her with its vine all the way from the edge of the fountain while other pokemon leaped in the water, grabbed her, and helped her keep afloat. The water below her was still murky brown, but she saw the solid gold color again.

Abigail hadn't been this tired in her life. The other pokemon's voices felt like noise fading in the background.