• A lush green forest, filled with overgrowing grape vines and raspberries. A sweet aroma emanating from the sakura blossoms scattered amongst the sweeping willow branches. There is a calm warm breeze and the sound of a clear cool river can be heard nearby. And… a disturbing snoring noise coming from a small burrow in the ground.
    “Who in their right mind would ruin my walk in this beautiful place?” wonders Flareon. She is a bright orange foxlike Pokémon, with a yellow fluffy tail- accompanied with a few yellow fur tufts along her chest and ears. Her coat gleams brilliantly like a flame. Her eyes are mostly dark, except a slight ring of sparkling gold, exceptional accents to the luster in her coat. She looks around and sniffs the ground searching for the creature that has disturbed her peaceful walk in the magical forest.
    “Zzzzzz…”
    Flareon notices a hole in the ground and trots over to it. The snoring noise grows louder as she approaches it. Annoyed, she conjures up an ember with her powers and makes it spark inside the hole.
    “Aah!”
    The creature in the hole awakens and quickly darts out of the hole. He hides behind a nearby tree licking the singed fur tufts on his tail while whimpering. Flareon slowly approaches him and realizes he is the Pokémon named Zorua. He is also a foxlike Pokémon. He has grey and black fur with bright red tufts on the end of his tail, paws, and markings on his face. His eyes are a glittering aqua blue color, like a clear ocean. He notices Flareon looking at him and he growls.
    “Why did you do that? he asks.
    “I was enjoying a walk in this beautiful forest when you interrupted it with your snoring,” Flareon exclaims, a little irritated.
    “You singed my fur…” he says, and he holds his tail in his paws as his ears droop.
    Flareon looks at him for a bit. She starts to feel sorry that she woke him so unexpectedly. It was a rude thing to do. Her ears droop a little as she looks up into his eyes, which look wet with tears.
    “I’m sorry…” she says apologetically.
    Zorua looks up at her and sees that she really is sorry. He nods and lets his tail rest on the ground so he can sit properly. Flareon still feels sorry, so she takes a few steps closer and reaches her face towards his. She softly nuzzles his cheek to make him feel better. He blushes a little, noticing her soft beautiful fur.
    “Thanks,” he says, too shy to say anything else.
    Flareon looks up and blushes a little as well. She thinks to herself: oh… he’s cute. Now I really feel bad…
    She cuddles up to him softly and licks his cheek. They both blush shyly and smile.
    Suddenly, there is a rumble. Zorua and Flareon look up through the tree branches. They notice that there is an ominous storm cloud looming over their heads, and rain starts to trickle through the branches of the trees. Flareon starts to get upset.
    “I hate rain!” she admits, exasperated.
    “Let’s find somewhere dry and warm,” suggests Zorua.
    They start walking down a path, searching for a warm place to dry off.
    “Look! Over there!” says Flareon, excited to see a warm dry place.
    Zorua looks to the spot that Flareon was indicating. There are a few fallen trees that are overlaying. Beneath them is a small space.
    “If we dig a hole under those trees we can both fit in a little den,” Flareon suggests.
    “Good idea!” Zorua agrees, “let’s do it!”
    They both make their way to the small space and start to dig a hole. They work as a team and shortly finish a hole that is big enough for them to fit in. Flareon shakes off the water from her fur and crawls into the space. Zorua does the same and follows after. They curl up together in the den to stay warm.
    “Maybe I should light a fire to keep us warm…” mentions Flareon.
    Zora frowns remembering the first time Flareon used ember.
    “I donno…” he says.
    “Don’t worry,” says Flareon consolingly, “I won’t hurt you this time, I promise.”
    Zorua thinks for a second, and then agrees. He nods in approval. With a flick of her tail, Flareon’s ember sparks and lights a few fallen branches near the den. She uses her power to control the flame. Zorua watches in wonder, and then turns to look at Flareon. She smiles at him and curls up and wraps her tail around him so he stays close and warm. Zorua does the same, cuddling up to her. Soon, he starts to snore, as he did earlier. Flareon looks at him and smiles.
    “He’s so cute…” she murmurs. And with a flick of her tail the fire goes out, and she falls asleep with her new companion. Safe. Soft. And warm.