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Orange was doing some training battles with his Pokémon when suddenly a distressed Vulpix came running right towards them.
“That Vulpix is gonna get hit!” Orange gasped. “Gotta get it outta th’way!” He ran up to it, grabbed it just in time, and protected it from a powerful Aqua Jet attack from Zel (it was too late to stop the attack completely). The Vulpix looked up at him, wide-eyed and scared, before flailing its little legs around, wanting to be put down. Orange respected its wishes and set it down gently on the ground in front of him. His eyes turned the color of his namesake as he called the training battle off for the time being. He took the Vulpix to sit down under a shady tree to calm down, and started talking to it in its language.
“Th-thanks for s-saving me…” the Vulpix said with a nervous stutter. “Th-that could've b-been a-a disaster i-if I-I’d gotten hit by th-that Aqua Jet…”
“No problem!” Orange said with a friendly grin. “I'm all ‘bout helpin’ keep Pokémon safe!”
The Vulpix looked at him, amazed. She didn't expect this human to respond back in her language.
“Y-you can understand m-me?!” she asked, the stutter now being more of a surprised stutter than a nervous one.
“Haha, yep!” Orange said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. “Don't worry, I get that a lot.” Just then, he noticed a figure approaching them, and started getting antsy. The Vulpix looked up at him with wide eyes, tilting her head in confusion. “Someone's comin’!” Orange explained. “I ‘unno who it is, but if they're bad I'll protect ya!”
The Vulpix turned around to try and see who it was. She recognized the figure instantly. “O-oh…” she said, the nervous stutter returning. “Th-that’s just m-my Trainer…”
Now it was Orange’s turn to tilt his head in confusion. “Why d’ya sound so nervous, then…?” he asked. “Is…is he mean t’ya?”
The Vulpix shook her head. “N-no…th-that's not it…” she said. “He’s nice. H-he just wants me to b-battle…I-I don't r-really feel c-comfortable b-battling…or being a-around the c-constant sounds of b-battle…th-that's all…”
“If ya don't wanna do somethin’ ya shouldn't hafta do it!” Orange declared, making the Vulpix stare at him with stars in her eyes as she felt understood for the first time.
The Vulpix’s Trainer finally reached them, out of breath and disheveled. “Vulpix, there you are!” he exclaimed, relieved. “I was wondering where you ran off to! We were just about to start battle training and -” he got cut off by Orange fixing him with a glare. “Wh-who are you…?” Vulpix's Trainer asked, intimidated by Orange's blazing orange eyes. Orange found himself unable to speak, so he took one of his notepads and a pencil out of his backpack and began to write.
“I'm Orange of Viridian Forest.” he wrote.
“Of Viridian Forest?!” Vulpix's Trainer asked in shock. “I'm from Kanto too! I'm Jason from Celadon City, though, now I live in Hearthome City!” He then realized something important. “Wait…you're from Viridian Forest…?! Does that mean you're one of those legendary Trainers with those cool powers?!”
“I dunno about ‘legendary’ or ‘cool’, but yeah, I do have Viridian Forest’s gift…” Orange wrote.
“Awesome! Maybe you can help me then!” Jason exclaimed, he opened his mouth to say something else but was cut off by Orange looking very serious as he wrote something else.
“You mean with your Vulpix? I already had a chat with her and she's a very skittish little thing, she has a stutter and everything. She doesn't feel comfortable battling or being around the sounds of constant battle. It's overwhelming for her.” Orange held the paper up to his face so that only his glaring orange eyes could be seen.
“Whoa…I had no idea!” Jason said. “Thanks for letting me know, I'll try to help her as much as I can! She was the first Pokémon I ever caught on my own, you know!”
“Then you should DEFINITELY learn to take the time and get to know her better!” Orange wrote in an angry tone, making the word ‘definitely’ in bold, while continuing to glare at the other boy.
Vulpix, meanwhile, was amazed by Orange. She had come running into the middle of a training battle, almost got hit with a super-effective Aqua Jet, Orange grabbed her and got her out of the way in time, and then called the battle off for the time being so he could find out what was wrong. This was what she'd wanted Jason to do, how she wanted to be cared for, instead of being forced to battle even though she didn't want to. She ran up and nuzzled Orange gratefully, with the biggest smile Jason had ever seen from her.
“Aww, you're such a cutie!” Orange said in Vulpix's language, before sitting down and letting her climb on his lap. Vulpix continued to nuzzle him, her six tails wagging happily. “You're so warm too…” Orange sighed contentedly. “Well, I guess that makes sense…ya ARE a Fire-type after all…” Vulpix just giggled in response.
Jason watched the scene in front of him sadly. “I've never seen her so happy before…” he whispered, wondering if it would be better to leave the Fox Pokémon in Orange's care, before trying one more time to get Vulpix to come back to him. “All right, Vulpix!” he announced. “It's time to go!”
Vulpix whined, looking at Orange. “Well, your Trainer says ya gotta go…” Orange said in her language. Vulpix's big brown eyes filled with tears as she nuzzled Orange one last time before slowly walking back to Jason's side. The sight made Orange tear up as well. “B’-bye, Vulpix, I hope I was able to help…” he whispered to himself.
“All right now…” Jason said. “Let's see what we can do to help you with your anxiety so you can feel better about battling…”
“WHAT?!” Vulpix yelled in shock (though to Jason it sounded like, “PIX?!”). This wasn't what she wanted, her Trainer STILL didn't understand! She knew he meant well but she just couldn't stand being forced to battle anymore. Even with Jason's newfound knowledge of her anxiety issues, he still wanted her to battle! “No…no…I'm not doing this anymore!” she said to herself. “I'm going back to Orange!”. And with those silent words to herself, the Fox Pokémon turned tail and ran back in Orange's direction.
“H-Hey!” Jason exclaimed. “Where are you going?!” He started chasing her again, wondering what was wrong this time. “Vulpix!” He shouted after her. “Come back!” It didn't take him long, however, to realize where she was going. “She's going back to that Viridian Forest kid…she’s gotta be!” A sad look washed over his face as he found that his prediction was right. She was dashing right back towards Orange, happily calling out to him as he welcomed her back with open arms, which she jumped right into with a big grin on her face and her tails wagging contentedly.
“Vulpix!” Orange exclaimed in her language as the Fox Pokémon jumped into his arms. “Hey! Wha’happened now…?” Vulpix looked down with an expression that could only be described as a mix of sadness and frustration. “Does your Trainer still not get ya…?” Orange asked. Vulpix shook her head.
“I-I don't wanna b-be with h-him a-anymore…” she said nervously and on the verge of tears. “I-I wanna s-stay here…w-with you! Y-you…you…understand me!” At these words, Orange teared up and hugged her tightly.
“Vulpix!” called Jason, once again out of breath and disheveled from chasing after her. Upon seeing his first ever caught Pokémon hugging and nuzzling Orange, however, he knew what he had to do. He waited for Vulpix to get off of Orange’s lap, and with a heavy heart, he knelt down and embraced the Fox Pokémon one last time. “Vulpix…” he said, tearing up. “I was so selfish…I didn't understand you the way you wanted me to…I'd never seen you so happy until you met Orange here…so…so…this is for the best.” He wiped his eyes for a moment before continuing. “You really deserve better, and I know you love Orange already…so I'm going to leave you here, with him. I'm sure he'll be a better Trainer for you than I was, since he can actually talk to you and all that…” He let go of Vulpix and watched her happily jump back into Orange's arms. “Yeah…this is for the best.” he whispered. “Orange!” he suddenly called.
Orange took his notepad out again and wrote, “What's up?”
“...Take good care of her for me…she deserves to be happy, here with you…”
“Don't worry, I'll take great care of her! But you seem so sad…” Orange wrote.
“Haha…yeah…Vulpix was the very first Pokémon I ever caught, after all…”
Orange thought for a moment, before getting an idea. “Then give me your Pokétch contact info!” he wrote, showing his Pokétch to the other boy.
“Wh-What?!” Jason asked. “Wh-why?!”
“Vulpix obviously means a lot to you, and I know she still loves you. If we exchange Pokétch contact info, then we can arrange meetups every now and then so you two can still see each other!” Orange wrote with a friendly smile on his face.
“Orange…” Jason said in disbelief. “That’s so nice of you to do that for me!” He quickly wrote down his Pokétch contact info on Orange's notepad and watched as Orange put it into his Pokétch.
“Here's mine!” Orange wrote, before writing down his own contact info and watching Jason put it into his Pokétch. “There! All set!” Orange wrote once the two boys were done exchanging info.
“Orange, I don't know what to say…the fact that you're still gonna let me see Vulpix even though she's your Pokémon now…it means a lot. Thank you.” Jason said gratefully.
“You're a good person…I can tell ya care ‘bout ‘er a ton.” Orange gave a friendly smile as he finally spoke to the other boy for the first time.
“You talked!” Jason exclaimed in shock. “I thought you were mute with how much you were writing!”
“Haha, nope!” Orange chuckled nervously. “I can talk…most o’ th’time…I jus’get anxious meetin’ new people ‘cause my experience with people throughout my life ain't exactly been th’best…so I usually write when meetin’ someone new.” he explained.
“Oh, I get it…” Jason said. “No wonder Vulpix took a liking to you! She has anxiety too.”
“Yeah, I figured that out by her stutter when she talked t’me for th’first time.” Orange said, before being interrupted by the calls of his Pokémon, wanting to be fed.
“Well, th’team's callin’ me…gotta go give ‘em their supper.” Orange explained. “Nice meetin’ ya! See ya again sometime! An’ that's a promise!” He waved goodbye to Jason, who watched as Vulpix happily followed behind her new Trainer to meet the rest of his team.
“Goodbye, Vulpix…” he said sadly, before brightening up thinking about Orange's promise. “But I’ll see you again someday!” That thought made him feel a little better as he made his way back to his own team for more training.
“All right everyone! Supper's ready!” Orange exclaimed after he and Thunderheart brought back a bunch of different berries. His Pokémon all cheered before digging in, Thunderheart making sure to hand Orange his daily helping of Pecha Berries for his own supper. “Thanks buddy!” Orange exclaimed, petting the Pikachu on the head. “What would I do without ya…”
“You sure wouldn't be where you are today without me, that's for sure!” Thunderheart declared, making Orange laugh.
“Yeah, you're right ‘bout that!” he agreed before turning to the newest member of his team. “Hey, Vulpix, c’mere an’ choose your favorite berries from th’bunch!”
“P-pecha.” Vulpix stuttered out, still a bit nervous.
“Gotcha.” Orange said. “Thunderheart, if ya please…” The Pikachu nodded, grabbing some Pecha Berries and offered them to Vulpix, who gratefully accepted them.
“These are yummy!” Vulpix exclaimed. “I've never had a Pecha Berry this yummy before!”
“Glad ya like ‘em, Vulpix!” Orange exclaimed with a grin. “Me an’ Thunderheart are pros when it comes t'berry pickin’! We know how t’find th’best berries ya've ever tasted, so we'll make sure ya eat berries like this everyday!”
“I'm looking forward to it!” Vulpix exclaimed. “And I'm looking forward to becoming better friends with you and your team!”
“Aww, thanks, Vulpix!” Orange exclaimed. “We're gonna be amazin' friends, I just know it!” He suddenly thought of something he had to do. “But t’make ya an official member o’ th’team, even though ya don't like battlin’, I gotta give ya a nickname!”
“A nickname…?” Vulpix asked, confused.
“Yeah! A nickname’ll make ya an official team member! Everyone on my team’s got one!” Orange exclaimed. “Don't worry, I know ya don't like t’battle, so ya don't hafta unless ya ever wanna try it, but a nickname’ll signify that you're one o’ my Poké-pals! One o’ my most treasured friends!”
“Oh, I understand now!” Vulpix said, nodding and wagging her tails. “Then go ahead! What will you call me from now on?”
“Hmmm…” Orange thought, before taking notice of Vulpix's six wagging tails. “How ‘bout…Tails!”
“Tails…” Vulpix repeated, thinking it over.
“Yeah! Tails fits ya ‘cause ya got six of ‘em! An’ I like your tails, they suit ya very well!”
“Okay then! Tails it is!” Vulpix - no…Tails - exclaimed, her six tails wagging faster with the joy she felt of being given a name and a spot on the team despite her anxiety about battling.
“Awesome! Glad ya like it!” Orange exclaimed, grinning. “Welcome t’ the team, Tails!”
“Glad to be here! Looking forward to our friendship!” Tails replied, grinning back, before jumping into Orange's arms again and nuzzling him.
And so, the day ended with Orange gaining a new team member, and new friend in Tails the Vulpix. Orange made sure Tails knew she was safe with him and that she wouldn't ever be forced to do anything she didn't want to or wasn't comfortable with. And Tails made sure Orange knew she appreciated everything he'd done for her and loved him very much.
(New Pokémon info!)
Vulpix
Nickname: Tails
Gender: Female
Nature: Timid
Characteristic: Alert to sounds
Ability: Flash Fire
Moveset: Currently unknown (doesn't like to battle)