The Tale of a Charmander (A Pokemon Story) Chapter 7; A Home in the Making?

I awoke the next morning to a knock at the door.

"Excuse me, Mr. Char?" called a voice from the outside.

Assuming it was the Gardevoir from the previous day, I was surprised to find an entirely different Pokémon, a Floatzel, standing outside my door.

"The King wishes you have breakfast with him this morning. If you're ready, I'll take you to the Dining Room."

Figuring this was going to happen at some point anyway, I followed the Floatzel down the numerous corridors and down two floors to the Dining Room. When I entered, I drew in a sharp breath. It seemed like more of a Great Hall than a Dining Room. It had one large rectangular table in the center which could seat about sixty Pokémon, if it had to. The ceiling was elevated well off the ground, a good twenty feet in the air. The room was decorated with candles and a massive chandelier. Flags of the kingdom - a singular peace symbol with a larger circle of all the Pokémon type symbols around it - hung on the walls, motionless. King Blastoise was sitting at the very far end of the table, in an ornate seat that had clearly been designed for him. The Floatzel brought me to the seat closest to the King, on his left. He then exited and it was just the King and I.

Where is Sapphire?

Before the conversation began, a Gothitelle came barging through a set of double doors with two platters of food. She set them both down in front of us and briefly described the meal before leaving. I didn't listen, as I was much too nervous to pay attention to such unimportant matters. Lifting the lid off my plate, I found Rawst Berries lying in some kind of creamy substance, with two carrots on the side. I began eating and tried to make as little eye contact with the King as possible. I had a suspicion that he still didn't like me.

"How does the food taste?" he asked.

I stopped chewing as quickly as I'd begun.

Why would he ask that? Is there something in this food?

"I'll take your wide-eyed expression as a sign that it's below average. I'll call for my chefs to bring you something else."

"No, it's fine. The food is good." I said, swallowing the mouthful and deciding that the King wasn't that evil.

"So, Char, I've been wondering for quite a while now, why were you out in that storm when Sapphire found you, anyways?"

"I was travelling." I said, not looking up from my food.

"Travelling where?"

"I honestly don't know." I replied, looking at him for the first time in our discussion. "You see, I don't really... have a home, as you know. I was wandering the Region, looking for some place that would shelter me."

"That still doesn't explain why you were out in that storm."

"It was a stupid move on my part, but earlier that day I had angered a flock of Spearow by accident, and they had chased after me. They only scattered when the storm started, and at that point, I was caught."

The King's hard-as-rock expression softened a bit, so I knew I was doing something right.

"Char, have you ever heard of a Pokémon by the name of Emburn."

I almost choked on the carrot that was going down my throat. Coughing, I gasped: "Why?"

"Well, I was reading this book called Criminals of the Cierra Region, and I came across a Charmander named Emburn. I figured since you were both Charmander, maybe you'd have heard of him?"

"Isn't that a little stereotypical of you to think all Charmander know each other?"

As soon as I said it, I knew I'd made a mistake, for I had forgotten I was in the presence of royalty. I was halfway through offering an apology, when the King raised his paw to silence me. "No need to ask for forgiveness. You're right, that was rather premature of me. My sincere apologies."

"Oh, don't worry about it. But in answer to your question, yes, I've heard of Emburn."

The King's eyes widened as if he weren't expecting this answer. "Oh?"

"Well, you see, I've been travelling for quite a while, and I've met quite a few interesting people, let me tell you, all with different takes on Emburn's story. Some thought he died, others thought he lived, and some were equally divided on the matter. As for the details concerning the accident, those were always hazy, as nobody really knows the truth surrounding the matter. However, from all the stories, I pieced together my own little version of what I believe truly happened that fateful day."

The King didn't look half as peeved now as he did upon my arrival. In fact, he actually looked like he was enjoying my company.

"Ah, that makes sense. Well then, a toast to the truth!" he said, holding up the golden goblet in front of him.

I hadn't even noticed but they were filled with wine, a human delicacy. I didn't particularly think that wine was the best for a breakfast of berries, but to be polite, I held up the goblet and said; "To the truth!" before taking a sip of the liquid. It was sweet. Too much so for my taste. I made a mental note to avoid wine in the future.

As I was finishing my platter, the King asked me one more question; "Char, what do you think of my daughter?"

I was taken aback, as I had not expected such a question. However, I recovered quickly.

"Sapphire? I think she's a fine young lady. You can really tell she cares about the people of the kingdom. She certainly knows her way around and it's always fun to spend time with her."

"Aw, thanks Char." said a voice from behind me.

Sapphire had just entered the room.

Oh great, here comes the red face again.

Just as the thought crossed my mind, my face grew hotter until the King smirked at me.

"I see you're up, Sapphire." he said, "Char and I were just having a discussion, and I must say, this Pokémon certainly knows how to speak to a King."

"Thank you." I said quickly. Oddly enough, I hadn't felt like I acted any different than I normally did.

"You're welcome. Sapphire, have you had breakfast?"

"Yeah, I grabbed something from the Kitchen before I came here."

"Very well. I suppose I'll let you two go. I'm sure you don't want to spend your whole day with this old fool."

"Thanks dad." said Sapphire. "Come on Char, we have a lot to see today."

---

Once again, Sapphire and I set off down the stone path. Another bright, sunny day.

"So, where are we headed today?" I asked,

She didn't answer. But she grinned her devious grin that always meant she was up to something.

"Sapphire?" I began, tentatively.

"Just follow me." was all she replied with.

I finally recognised the outline of the gate, black as the rest, but before I could read what it said, Sapphire whispered: "Close your eyes."

"What? Why?"

"Just trust me."

I hesitantly closed my eyes and darkness clouded my vision. I felt Sapphire's paw slip into mine as she pulled me forward. I felt my face grow hot once again. Then the rest of me. I narrowed my closed eyes in confusion. Something wasn't right.

Why is my whole body hot?

I was about to open my eyes, when Sapphire let go of my paw.

"Ok, you can open your eyes now."

When my eyelids fluttered up, I could hardly believe what I saw.

We were at the foot of a massive volcano. It was almost as tall as the trees in the forest. There were smaller volcanoes all around us, and everywhere I looked, all I could see was fire types. There were two Vulpix playing some game of tag, a pack of Arcanine and their young sharing berries, and a few Darumaka and Darmanitan resting in a circle a little ways off. The Darmanitan were all in Zen Mode.

"Do you like what you see?" asked Sapphire,

I turned to look at her, astonished. "Are you kidding me? I love it! What is this place?"

"This is the Volcano, our fire type habitat, and soon to be your home if you impress my father."

Now I looked at the place with a different kind of envy. It was magnificent. A dream come true. Could such a place actually exist in the middle of a forest? Suddenly, a thought struck me.

"You're a water type Sapphire. Are you supposed to be here?"

"You're forgetting that I'm the daughter of the King, silly."

"Oh, right."

"Well, don't just stand there, you still have to meet your people."

"My people?"

Sapphire and I approached the entrance to a tunnel at the base of a Volcano.

"Don't ask questions, just listen. The Pokémon in the Volcano live in little caves that they dig out themselves. The caves they dig are usually dug into the base of a volcano, and every volcano becomes a house to a few different species of Pokémon. This volcano... well... just wait. Coal! Come out here!"

I heard a voice echo from inside one of the caves.

"Who's there?"

"Princess Sapphire!"

"Princess! Oh, just a moment. I'm on my way!"

Ten seconds later, a small light could be viewed glinting off the walls in the tunnel. I squinted to get a better look, but all I saw was the silhouette of a bipedal Pokémon moving toward us. When he stepped in the light, I gasped out loud. He was a Charmander.

"How may I help you, your majesty?" he asked, bowing down.

"At ease, soldier." Sapphire teased, "I'd like you to meet my new friend, Char."

"A new face? Cool! We haven't had a new fire type around here in forever! Hey sis, Come meet the new guy!"

Another light appeared at the end of the tunnel, drawing closer.

"So what brings you to the Kingdom of Peace, friend?" asked Coal,

I didn't answer. I was still shocked to find a third Charmander in the kingdom. Before I could stop myself, I asked Sapphire: "How many are there?"

"How many what?"

"Charmander? Or Charmeleon or Charizard? How many are in this kingdom?"

"Oh, hundreds. The species is rather abundant here. This entire volcano is dedicated to them."

"Don't worry though. We don't all sleep in the same cavern." chuckled Coal,

"What's the big commotion?" asked the Charmander who appeared behind Coal,

As soon as we locked eyes, I let a big smile wash across my face.

"Char?" asked Blaze,

"You know this guy?" offered Coal,

"Yeah, I met him yesterday at the Beach. He's a really nice guy."

She said this and never once did she take her eyes off me.

"Well then, it's nice to meet you Char." said Coal, extending his paw.

I took it and shook it firmly.

"Char is here because I found him out in the woods two nights ago. He's looking for a home." said Sapphire cheerily,

"You were out during that big storm?" asked Coal, "We were hiding in the deepest recesses of our cave, Blaze and I. What the Helioptile would make you crazy enough to go out in it?"

"Come on, Coal, Char just arrived here. We don't want to scare him off." said Sapphire, "Hey Blaze, do you mind showing Char around for me? I have some important things I need to discuss with Kurt the Arcanine. Besides, you know this place far better than me, anyway."

Blaze's eyes lit up like she was just asked to rule the kingdom for the day. "Of course I'll show him around!" she exclaimed, a little too enthusiastically.

She grabbed me by the paw and yanked me along with her, much to the disapproving glare of her brother and the shocked expression on Sapphire's face. Once we were away from them, we slowed to a walk. Blaze never let go of my paw, and I was surprised to find I never asked her to. She pointed out the various volcanoes and the Pokémon home to them as we passed. I soon learned that there wasn't much sightseeing to be done in this habitat. It was all just volcanoes. Or at least, it was, until Blaze showed me the hot springs.

"This is by far my favourite place in the Volcano." said Blaze, "It's so relaxing to just let the water warm you up until you could sit there forever."

"They certainly look nice."

"Would you like to try them?"

This question caught me off guard. I wasn't expecting her to ask me to do anything with her except sightsee.

"It's okay if you don't. I just think talking about them doesn't quite do it justice." she continued,

Apprehensive, I slowly agreed: "Okay."

We got into the hot spring one at a time, each of us being careful not to let our tails get wet. We sat across from each other, and didn't say much. Blaze was smiling kindly at me. I couldn't help but return the gesture. We stayed there for about five minutes before engaging in conversation.

"I don't think I told you already Char, but I loved your story last night!"

"My story?"

"Yeah! The one about Emburn."

"Oh, that one."

"Yeah, it was super dark and creepy, and you had the whole circle quiet after that! It even cut into all our discussion time, so we had to leave right afterwards. I'm sure not a single Pokémon went back to their habitat without thinking about it."

I shrugged. "There's really nothing to think about. Just some old tale of a Charmander."

"But it was cool! I'd never heard of him before last night."

"I don't see what's so cool about pillaging villages and towns and interrupting peaceful human and Pokémon life for your own gain." I said coldly,

Blaze was silent for a moment. "If it was your story, why do you feel so bad about it?"

"It wasn't my story. It was Charge's. He just told it wrong. Besides, I never liked Emburn."

"You knew him?"

"No, I didn't know him. But I knew of him. He was a pathetic excuse for a Pokémon and the world is better off without him."

Blaze nodded in agreement.

"Come on Char," she said, "I still have to show you the main volcano."

"Won't it be just like all the others?" I asked, chuckling.

"Only on the outside. Come on."

---

Blaze wasn't kidding when she said the volcano was very different on the inside. It was ginormous and circular, with a large pit of lava in the middle and an arena suspended by metal chains above it. Fire types bustled this way and that, in the usual get-it-done, passionate, independent manner they did. It appeared to be an entirely different gathering place than the Town Square, designated solely for fire types.

"If you want to meet people or get info about the kingdom, this is the place to do it. Everyone here is helpful. Just be careful not to annoy them. Fire types are quick to start arguments, which usually turn into fights. That's why there's an arena dangling over the lava."

"That looks like a safety hazard."

"Being a fire type yourself, I assumed you knew that our type is usually full of hothead daredevils."

"You mean idiots?"

Blaze laughed. "Yeah, pretty much!"

We joked with each other and walked around until noon, when we finally arrived back at her cave.

"Well, that's the fire type habitat." said Blaze, smiling at me.

"I think if I do end up staying, I'm going to love it here."

"I think I'll love it if you end up staying. Period."

Her face turned scarlet at that. I was about to say something witty in return, when her brother stepped out of the entrance. If looks could kill, I would have died, been resurrected, and died once more.

"Are you done sightseeing?" he asked frigidly,

"Yeah, we are." said Blaze, "It was a blast!"

"Alright then. Listen up, new guy. Sapphire told me to tell you that she's back at Blast castle waiting for you. She seemed pretty concerned about something."

"Thanks." I said, taking notice that he did not use my name, "I'll be going then. Nice meeting you Coal." I shook his paw once more, for good measure. He simply grunted.

"Bye, Char!" exclaimed Blaze from behind her brother, which only made him narrow his eyes more.

Eager to escape the building tension, I said a quick goodbye to Blaze and walked away as fast as I could. The day had started out amazing. Though there wasn't much to see here, this habitat would be my home if King Blastoise let me stay.

My home if he lets me stay.

Those words were all I could think of as I returned to Blast Castle.