Night. Darkness. Shadows.

I had always been afraid of the dark, as a child. There had been monsters under the bed, in the closet, and in the hall, or so I had thought, at least. The absurdity of my thoughts as a child were evident to me now, and I was fine with them as well, but the scar left on my mind was ever present.

Darkness is the absence of light. Shadows are the absence of everything else. Monsters were what I made of them. It was a subconscious, base, primal reaction to the unknown. It was like when you go to the bathroom in the night. It's as if a monster is behind you. But it seizes to exist when you're inside, for whatever reason, and then returns on your journey back.

I sighed.

I was not a kid anymore, but why did the fear still remain? Sure, it wasn't that big of a fear but it still was. I couldn't help but think about what might be lurking in the darkness.

So, when someone screamed, "AHHHHHH!"

I felt my heart drop.

I immediately pushed forward, trying to get a view of whatever it was. I stumbled out into someone, hearing our club leader shout, "It's just a Zubat!"

I felt the tension leave my shoulders. I chuckled nervously, feeling stupid for overreacting.

"Dude, you should see your face right now, you afraid of the dark or something?" Reto said, laughing.

I looked beside, to see his eyes glinting in the light.

'Yeah... no shit, Sherlock."

And yes... I was afraid of the dark.

"Okay, who's up for getting rid of this Zubat?" Arc asked, as he poked his head back at everyone.

I shrugged, Cyndaquil could be used later, I wasn't about to tire him this early for no reason at all.

Arc started to get out his Pokéball, sighing, "Do you think I'll be there everytime? What is there to be afraid anyway?"

A few seconds later, the Zubat was defeated.

We resumed walking again, and while doing so, we encountered a lot of Zubat. Classic. They just wouldn't stop appearing.

Zubat was a blue, chiropteran Pokémon with pointed ears sporting purple insides and a mouth brimming with two sharp teeth on each jaw. Its purple wing membranes, supported by elongated fingers, fluttered gracefully, while two slender tails trailed behind.

Yep, that Zubat. The annoying one that wouldn't stop appearing on every corner of Mt. Moon in the games...

They were abundant in dark caves, Zubat also found solace in forests and beneath the eaves of ancient structures. There was one more thing about Zubat, they gathered with others of its kind.

Which meant, that there would be a lot of Zubat here.

Needless to say, we dealt with any that came our way. Castor and Arc started encouraging students to battle them as well, given that first years specifically were rather icky about it for whatever reason. I did not particularly care, it was a good opportunity for the Pokémon to train.

So, I wasn't surprised at the time when I heard Castor yelling, "Ian! Get your ass over here!"

I ran over, and my hand was already reaching for Cyndaquil's Pokeball. I knew why he had called me. It was my turn.

"Get done with it," He ordered, as I threw out the Pokeball.

As the Pokéball burst open, a burst of red light materialized into the form of my fiery Cyndaquil. Its small, spiky body emitted a warm glow, and its tiny flames on its back flickered eagerly. Cyndaquil looked up at me with big eyes, ready for battle.

"Alright, Cyndaquil," I said, "Let's take care of these Zubat quickly."

I scanned the area and noticed a group of Zubat hovering nearby, their wings creating a haunting symphony of flapping as they circled in the darkness. I sighed.

"Start with Ember!" I called out, pointing towards the swarm of Zubat.

Cyndaquil responded promptly, opening his mouth and sending a blast of fire hurling their way. Ember soared through the air, engulfing the Zubat in a flurry of flames. The Zubat screeched and scattered, trying to avoid the fiery assault. However, Cyndaquil's accuracy was on point, and he managed to hit multiple Zubat with its precise aim.

"Now, Tackle!"

Not wasting any time, I ordered Cyndaquil to follow up with Tackle. Cyndaquil dashed towards the disoriented Zubat, his small body charging forward. He collided with one of the Zubat, sending it spiraling to the ground. Before the other Zubat could regroup, Cyndaquil unleashed a series of swift Tackles, taking them down one by one.

"Keep it up!" I encouraged.

"CyndaaaaKiuuu!"

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With a determined squeak, Cyndaquil charged forward and struck the final Zubat.

I grinned and called Cyndaquil back. He came hopping back, jumping up, and sat on my shoulder. Meanwhile, I grabbed an empty Pokeball from my belt and felt it enlarge in my hand, coming to its actual size. I threw it towards one of the Zubat. The ball flew through the air, until it reached its target and captured it inside.

It shook and beeped three times before clicking, confirming that the Zubat had been caught.

"I got it," I said, and went ahead and picked up the Pokeball.

I placed it on the belt, and proceeded to walk back to the rest of the group. As I walked, though, I heard the sound of flapping wings nearing in an instant. I felt my heart quicken, and my hand shot out and grasped the Pokeball containing my newly captured Zubat. I pulled it out, and was about to throw it along with using Cyndaquil. Though I was aware that Zubat wasn't ready for battle in the slightest.

Fuck, there was a whole 'army' of Zubat right behind us!

I had no idea what I was supposed to do. There were at least Zubat in double digits coming and that wasn't good. That wasn't good at all. The stalagmites and stalactites shook due to the noise the little fucks were making as they came near.

"Fuck," I whispered.

It was like one of those horror movies where it's all going downhill and you know that this is when it's about to get really fucking scary. The Zubat were closing in, their wings beating faster and faster as they gained speed.

"Hey, guys!" I yelled, and turned around, "Guys!"

The others looked towards me, and I shouted, "It's a full swarm of Zubat!"

Why the fuck did they not pick up on the sound!?

"Fuuuuh..." I took a deep breath and calmed myself.

I let go of Zubat's Pokeball and called out, "Cyndaquil, you ready?"

"CyndaaaaKiuuuu!" Cyndaquil replied, hopping up and down on my shoulder.

It seemed that there was nothing to worry about here, as the army neared, Arc came in front of me, flashing a grin. He threw his Pokeball into the air, shouting, "Come on, Magmar!"

He didn't even wait for his Pokémon to appear before he commanded, "Use Flamethrower!"

Magmar, a bipedal Pokémon, had a red body with yellow flame designs at its lower half. It sported a tan beak, small eyes, and two lumps on its forehead topped with yellow flames. Its arms were covered in rigid, red scales, and its hands boasted five clawed fingers. Yellow shoulders and thighs contrasted with its red feet, each bearing two clawed toes. Black, metal shackles adorned its neck and ankles. Along its back, a row of red spikes stood, while a flame flickered at the tip of its tapering, yellow tail.

"Magaaaarrrr!" it growled in a rumbling voice as it opened its mouth, fire particles swirling around its mouth as its body glowed a bright, orange glow. It threw back its head, then unleashed a stream of fire from its mouth.

The blast rippled out of its mouth, whistling through the air as it spread apart into flames.

As the Zubat drew closer, I could see the flames blazing as they neared. The heat emanating off of it was so intense that I felt my hair blow back from the intensity. My face felt hot as fuck.

I heard Cyndaquil squealing on my shoulder. My heart dropped. What, did something happen.

As the fire slammed into the coming Zubat, illuminating the cave, I felt the fear rise in my chest. I could see the fire burning all the Zubat, not leaving any of them unharmed. The flames burned through their wings, reducing them to charred bits of flesh.

I immediately looked at my squealing Cyndaquil, only to find him staring at the Flamethrower with wide sparkling eyes.

...What?

His back flared up into spikes of fire as he huffed, jumping off to the ground. I let go as his back blasted into fire. What is happening?

"CyndaKiu!" he hopped up to Magmar, and started jumping around the bigger Pokémon, seemingly talking. His eyes appeared similar to that of someone who had found an... idol? I couldn't tell, but one thing I knew for sure, Cyndaquil was motivated.

The Zubat that were caught in the Flamethrower were charred on the ground. Magmar was quite known for its bad habit of unintentionally burning its prey to a crisp. And that was exactly what happened.

"YOU IDIOT!" Castor's growl came from behind as he stomped up to us and chopped right on Arc's head. "What the fuck is your problem!? What do you think you're doing!?"

Arc stumbled forward from the force of the chop, and fell on his face, groaning. He got up immediately, as he shouted, "What's the problem with what I was doing?"

"A Flamethrower? In a fucking cave? Are you serious?"

"We had no choice! It was that or die!"

"Don't be stupid! You have other Pokémon, you could take out any one of them to come out and deal with this shit!"

"Magmar?" Magmar grumbled.

"Nah, you're good, Magmar, this idiot is not though."

"I was- I was just excited! Imagine! Me, saving a kid!" he pointed at me.

...Excuse me?

I felt my face go dark. What the fuck did he just say?

"Save a kid? Are you serious? Gah!" Castor sighed, and rubbed his temple. "Nevermind."

"Oh come on, it was nothing."

"Yeah, yeah, come on, let's go."

As I stared at them walk ahead, I saw Magmar snorting at Cyndaquil in amusement. Cydnaquil was still standing on the ground, staring at Magmar with big sparkly eyes.

I turned to Cyndaquil, "Uhm, Cyndaquil? Cyndaquil?"

He looked up at me, and ran up to me with his small legs, jumping up to sit on my shoulders again.

...Alright.

I sighed, and we went ahead.

And while we walked, I heard Arc laughing, "Magmar, what did Cyndaquil say to you?"

"CyndaquaKiu!"

"Magmar," Magmar responded.

"Put him back in the Pokeball," Castor called out from ahead. "Fire type Pokémon, on top of that, he glows due to his temperature. Aren't you aware? Its body temperature should nearly be 2,200° Fahrenheit or 1,200° Celsius, that's why its body glows. Now, put it back."

Arc scratched his head and called his Pokémon back.

As we continued deeper into the cave, the air grew colder and the sounds of flapping wings gradually faded away. The cave's walls became more rugged and uneven, and faint glimmers of light reflected off small crystals embedded in the rock.

Just as we were about to lose hope of finding anything other than Zubat, a soft melody reached our ears. We followed the sound, drawn to its enchanting allure. As we turned a corner, a sight awaited us that filled our hearts with wonder.

There, in a corner, stood a Clefairy.