About two and a half hours later, Gregory and Nora finally started down the road to Cherrygrove. The Sun’s warming light began chasing away the lingering chill of the night as the campground slowly faded from view behind them.
After they had returned from their berry hunt, Gregory and his team started to train. They kept it short, as Nora and He were eager to be on their way. So, after they did a few conditioning exercises and ate breakfast, the campsite was packed up, and they headed out.
Ari had been a little disappointed about the early end of the session but was mollified when Gregory promised they would do more tonight. During the short sparring session, though, he had learned what moves his new Pokemon knew: poison sting, String shot, Leech life, and bug bite. Gregory was already thinking of ways to utilize Ari’s web-spinning ability. One thing he did learn from the Trainer school was not to underestimate the power of utility moves.
The morning and afternoon had passed by much the same way their first day on the route had. Watching the trees as they walked, catching glimpses of Rattata, Pidgey, and the occasional Sentret who would peek out from the tree tops and bushes as the teens passed.
Around noon, they came across a meadow. The tall trees that encircled it on all sides except the one adjacent to the road cast its edges in a cool shade. They stopped only to eat a quick lunch of trail mix and some of the berries Gregory had scavenged for at the campsite. Soon, they were back on the road. Mudkip and Fennekin had climbed onto their respective trainers' shoulders, enjoying the clear skies and the crisp breeze that followed them down the road.
As the hours passed, Gregory noticed that the forest became less dense until it finally gave way to large swaths of grass and rolling hills. The route they walked weaved through the thick growth like a river. Far in the distance, they could just make out another dense wall of trees, and just above the green boughs, a flash of light reflected off a glass structure.
“We are getting close. The city is just beyond those trees in the distance,” Nora said, her hand up, shading her eyes as she pointed out at the tree line with the other.
Off to their right, on a far-off hill, they could see a large herd of Mareep grazing off the tall grass. The small sheep-like Pokemon had blue skin on their exposed face and feet. Even from this distance, Gregory and Nora could see the flashes of light from the orbs on the ends of the yellow and black striped tails, which matched the conical horns that adorned the sides of their heads. Their fluffy yellow-white coats were bright in the mid-afternoon sun.
Interspersed among them were a small number of Flaffy. The evolved Pokemon had pink skin and less wool, which only grew around their neck and heads. Gregory watched as they slowly moved among the Mareep, walking on two legs rather than four. Similarly to their pre-evolutions, their tails would also light up periodically from the blue orb on their pink and black striped tails.
Watching them filled Gregory with a sense of enjoyment, a slight grin touching the corners of his lips. Ari, who had made himself comfortable on top of his head, only briefly watched the grazing Pokemon with little interest. Earlier in the day, Fennekin had asked to be put back into her Pokeball, her short legs unable to keep up with Nora and Gregory’s long-legged stride.
Suddenly, Ari made loud chittering noises, trying to direct Gregory’s attention away from the distant Mareep. He pointed his gaze to where the little spider was pointing with a single leg. Gregory was alarmed to see a flock of Spearow taking turns to dive bomb something he could not see through the tall grass. Occasionally, there would be small bursts of fiery pellets, which he recognized as an ember attack, that would arc up toward the small flying types, trying to ward them away. The return fire was hardly adequate. The few Spearow that were hit were able to shrug off the damage and keep diving at their target.
The fighting was finally audible to them as the Spearow steadily approached the two teens' location. Angry caws filled the air as the Spearow continued their harassing orbit, punctuated by yelps of pain from the unseen defender.
Nora and Gregory stopped, sharing a brief look—no words needed to be said. Gregory reached for the Pokeball at his belt, Fennekin appearing in a flash of bright light. Meanwhile, Mudkip, who had been in Nora’s arms until this point, jumped down to join the fox.
By this time, the circling attackers had reached them. Bursting out through the grass was a tiny vulpine Pokemon. Its vermillion fur was in tatters. Gashes and bald spots covered its body. The six tails that trailed behind it flared out. Though its chest heaved and its legs trembled, it was still trying to dodge the incoming birds, shooting bursts of embers when it could.
Without hesitation, the two trainers jumped in to help.
“Mudkip, water gun!” “Ari, string shot, aim for the wings. Fennekin ember!” They both ordered simultaneously
Ari was the first to react, a focused gleam in his black eyes. He spat out short bursts of sticky webbing toward the small brown feathered birds. The shouted commands caught both the vermilion-furred Pokemon and the Spearow off guard. All of them turned to look at the new arrivals. This pause allowed some of the webbing to connect with Ari's targets, and two Spearow crashed to the ground, one of their wings effectively glued to their bodies. This attack was followed by Mudkip and Fennekin, who released their respective elemental projectiles. Their attacks clipped two more of the flying types, knocking them from the air. The accuracy drills from the other day have visibly affected their skills.
The trainers weren't the only ones quick to take advantage of the surprise; the exhausted fox pounced on one of the webbed Spearow. Its body blurred away, only for it to reappear, tackling the grounded bird. The hit was enough to knock it unconscious, leaving only six more of the flying types to deal with.
"Mudkip, keep those spearow away from that vulpix with water gun." Nora called out
"Ari, keep up the string shots. Fennekin target the ones he hits with embers," Gregory ordered.
The element of surprise gone, the Spearow resumed their attack. Some sent gusts of wind, while others dived bombed them with beaks glowing with a sky blue energy. Three peeled off to make passes at Fennekin and Ari, who jumped off Gregory's head so as not to put him in danger.
Fennekin was able to dodge most of their attacks, but when they dived at her from two different angles, she could not move out of the way fast enough. A glowing beak slammed into her side, the impact causing her to slide across the packed dirt road. She was able to get back up and into the fight quickly—a barrage of embers paying back that one that just hit her.
Ari fared much better. Though unable to run in the same manner as the more mammalian Pokemon, he could jump with great power and dexterity. Gregory supposed he would have had much experience fighting flying types, seeing as they are a natural predator of his species.
The Spearow that dived at him weren't able to hit him at all. He would just jump over them as they swooped at him—one of the unlucky birds getting a point-blank string shot in the exchange. The sticky webbing hit it in the face, blinding it and causing it to stumble around on its legs, desperately trying to clear his eye.
However, Ari's luck ran out as when he jumped to dodge another swooping bird, one of its flock-mates buffeted him with a burst of air from the powerful flaps of its wings. The gust knocked him off course, and he impacted the ground on his back. The green spider Pokemon righted himself quickly and fired off a few more string shots, tying up another of the attackers.
With two of the three webbed down by Ari, Fennekin and he could team up and quickly knock the final one unconscious. Fennekin first distracted it with a charm-powered wink, the pink glow of her eyes causing it to pause mid-air briefly. Ari then hit in with his web, causing it to drop from the air. Fennekin finished it with a decisive scratch attack to its brown feather head.
The remaining three had resumed their attack on the wounded Vulpix, one of the birds diving down to finish it off. Just as it made to knock out its prey, Mudkip tackled it bodily out of the way. Squawking as it bounced off the road like a rock skipping along the surface of a pond, it did not get up after the final bounce. Nora Cheered on her partner as he shot off more water guns to keep the two remaining birds away from the injured Pokemon.
The last remaining Spearow looked around and saw that all their allies had been knocked out. With one last parting angry squawk from each of them, they turned and flew off.
"Good job you guys!" Gregory called out to his Pokemon, walking over to them and checking them over to see the extent of their wounds. Both had only suffered very minimal scraps and cuts. Gregory pulled out his potion bottle, sprayed it on a rag, and dabbed at the wounds.
Nora walked cautiously over to the Vulpix, who was still on edge after the ordeal. It was still trembling like a leaf in a breeze, eyeing the two humans and their Pokemon warily. Suddenly, Its legs gave out, the adrenaline that had been keeping it going wearing off, and it collapsed to the floor.
Nora rushed over, bundling it up into her arms. She quickly returned Mudkip to his ball with a few words of praise.
"We need to get it to a Pokemon center soon. These wounds look bad." She said, turning to Gregory. There was blood from a deep cut on its flank that had already begun bleeding onto her shirt. She sprayed potion onto some of the worst lacerations, but their multitude was too much for the medicine.
Gregory returned his Pokemon to their balls. The bright smile from their victory fell to one of concern. With a nod, they both took off down the dirt road. The thuds of boots echoed out into the expanse of the grassland that surrounded them.
About ten minutes later, they had made it to the tree line on the other side of the rolling hills. As they entered, off in the distance, the tall glass buildings of Cherrygrove's city center could be seen poking out.
"I d-dont t-think we, jeez, are ga-going to make it," Gregory gasped, having to pant and gulp down air between words as Nora and he kept running down the road. "Ma-Maybe you should Ca-capture it with a Pa-pokeball."
Nora stopped running and then gasped for air. She looked down at the Pokemon in her arms. The wounds the potion couldn't close were still seeping blood, and its breaths seemed to have slowed down.
"You're right. I should've just done that earlier," she said, a frustrated look on her face as she knelt, slinging her backpack off one shoulder. She adjusted her grip to ensure she wouldn't drop her charge and reached into one of her pockets with the other hand, pulling out a Pokeball.
"I'm sorry about this. I'll release you once you've been healed," she promised, tapping the Vulpix with the ball. The device shook once in her hand before the click of a successful capture rang out.
Now that it was in a Pokeball, the Vulpix would be in stasis, which gave them time to make it to the Pokemon Center in Cherrygrove.
"Don't beat yourself up about it, it was a hectic moment." Gregory said. He had finally been able to catch his breath a bit so that he could speak without gasping.
"well, we should get going. I don't want to waste any more time." Nora sighed. Then she settled her pack back over her shoulder and started running down the road again. Gregory was quick to follow behind her.
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About 40 minutes later, the dirt road they had been running on suddenly changed to pavement. The trees, which up until now had been wild growing wherever there was room, became much more orderly, surrounded by flowers and other aesthetically pleasing flora. Occasionally, the woods would give way to a suburban house, denoting that they had made it into the city's outskirts. The glass buildings that before had looked small were now high above them, towering into the sky.
While New Bark town was a small settlement, Cherrygrove was anything but. The road they followed winded through the suburban neighborhood. The sidewalks they were now walking down had cherry trees spaced evenly down their length. Many houses they passed had gardens or tasteful flower bushes landscaping their front yards. There were also many people, and Pokemon shared the sidewalks with them. Pidgey and Ledyba were above them, resting amongst the tree branches, while Yanma and Buterfree fluttered amongst the flowers.
As they moved deeper into the city, the single houses gave way to more urban-style buildings; apartment buildings, and commercial plazas. In one such plaza, they found a Pokemon center. It looked much the same as the one from New Bark Town. The same Red roof and white Pokeball symbol made it immediately recognizable.
Nora led the way into the bottom floor of the building, making her way to the nurse manning the front desk.
"Hello! How can I help you two?" The nurse said. She had looked up from the computer screen she was typing away at when they reached the front desk.
"We ran into a Vulpix on the road that was being attacked by a flock of Spearow. It had gotten really hurt, too much for a normal potion. I had to catch it just to make sure we could get it here." Nora said in a rush, placing the Pokeball containing the hurt fox Pokemon on the counter. Her eyes were pleading, beseeching them to save the poor Pokemon.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
The nurse's welcoming smile immediately became severe as she pressed a button they couldn’t see, causing a faint alarm to go off in the room behind the desk.
"Don't worry, miss, we will do all we can for it," The nurse said as she took the Pokeball from Nora's Hand. She turned just as a door to the back room opened, letting out a Chansey. The squat pink Pokemon waddled out of the door at a rapid pace. Atop its head sat a white nursing cap with a red cross on its center, similar to the woman who greeted them. A large white egg sat within a pouch situated on its stomach. The ordinarily happy expression on its face was determined as it approached, and the human nurse handed it the vulpix's Pokeball. "Chanse," it said with a nod before rushing back through the door it came out of.
"Was there anything else that I could help you with?" the nurse said as she turned back to Nora and Gregory, smiling reassuringly.
"We could use a room, and we have other pokemon that could use a checkup," Gregory said as he put a comforting hand on Nora's shoulder. She was still giving the back room door worried glances, but when he mentioned having the nurse check out other Pokemon, she looked away.
"yes, please give me Mudkip a look over," she added.
"Certainly! I can help you with both of those things. If I could please just see your trainer IDs, and if you would put your Pokeballs into this tray, I can take care of them." She said as she sat back down at her computer after putting two trays in front of them. They both had six spherical slots in them for Pokeballs to slot into.
Gregory and Nora placed their Pokemon in the trays and handed her their Trainer IDs. She took both with a smile, sliding the trays into a small conveyor belt that stuck out from the wall directly behind her. After a few minutes of typing at her computer, she returned the IDs.
"I synched your cards to your rooms, just swipe them on the doors card reader and the will unlock. Here are your room numbers," She said as she handed them a small slip of paper with the room number on it.
They both gave her a thankful smile and headed to find their rooms. Taking the elevator on the right side of the lobby, they ascended to the third floor, where the rooms were located.
“I’ll meet you down at the Lounge?” Gregory asked as he paused in front of the door to the room. Thanks to them having run the last stretch of road to the Pokemon Center, it wasn’t that late. The sun had another hour or two before it descended below the horizon.
“Sure, but first, I need to shower. I feel gross,” Nora said with a faint look of disgust. The run had left them hot, sweaty, and sore.
“yeah, you and me both,” he agreed readily. With a smile and a nod, Gregory swiped his card across the door's key reader, the small LED light flashing a bright green as the thunk of the lock disengaging rang out into the hallway.
Closing the heavy door behind him, he turned and took in the room in front of him. Immediately to his right was a bathroom, complete with a toilet, sink, and a decent-sized shower. The room opened up past the bathroom into a large room that combined a kitchenette, living room, and bedroom. The leftmost side of the room had a small fridge next to a countertop with another sink and a few gas burners for cooking. Along the far wall, there was a TV screen mounted to it. Across from it sat a single recliner seat. A full-sized bed was pushed against the wall on the other side of the room, and a crisp bedspread with a generic floral design rested atop the mattress. Gregory saw that around the floor of the room, there were cushions of various designs suitable for Pokemon on the smaller side of the spectrum to relax. He even saw a perch mounted into the wall for flying-type Pokemon.
The clean and orderly room instantly put him at ease. He bent down and untied his hiking boots, kicking them off with a groan of relief, the constraining ache from wearing them all day receding away. Slipping his pack off his shoulders, he set it on the floor by the bed and headed straight into the bathroom to shower. As the pleasantly warm water cascaded over him, he felt the road's stress and grime melt away, flowing down the drain with the used water from the wash. Feeling refreshed, Gregory changed into a clean pair of clothes and left his room.
He exited the elevator onto the second floor, the shiny metal doors gliding noiselessly closed behind him. The room he entered was a vast open space. It looked to take up most of the second floor's footprint. The center's cafeteria took up the back quarter of the room, which was to his right, was taken up by the Center's cafeteria. Menus were hanging from the ceiling above a counter manned by a bored-looking man who was currently sitting down reading a book. Spread out in front of the counter were a handful of tables for patrons to sit and eat their food.
The rest of the room, not taken up by the cafeteria, was a lounge area for trainers to enjoy. Multiple TVs were hanging from the walls, all of which were tuned to a different channel. Placed around the room were couches and tables. Each was set so a person could see a few TVs at once. A line of video phones was set up at the back wall.
Many of the seats and couches were full of people, the sounds of their quiet conversations causing a low murmur to fill the air. As Gregory made his way to an open couch, he noticed that he didn't recognize many of the Pokemon that accompanied their trainers.
Over on the cafeteria side of the room, a girl was eating at one of the tables. Her maroon hair was a messy tangle, but the most striking feature about her was the three raised lines that cut vertically across the right of her face. The first line missed her amber eye by a hair. On her shoulder sat a tiny bird Pokemon with deep blue feathers on its back and wings. Its front, however, was a golden yellow outlined with a dark black that went up around its red eyes and small, sharp-looking beak. He raised his Pokedex to scan the mysterious Pokemon.
"Rookidee," The Pokedex intoned, " The Tiny Bird Pokemon. It is a Pokemon known to inhabit the Galar region. Rookidee despite their small stature, are feisty Pokémon that are always ready for a fight. The size or strength of the opponents does not matter; Rookidee will spar with any foe, and will try to learn from both victories and defeats. By practicing against all sorts of opponents, these Pokémon learn to adapt their fighting styles to different situations. They can be a bit too eager when they see supposed openings however, and will often fall for feints."
He had looked down to look at the picture of the Pokemon as the Pokedex read off its entry, so Gregory was surprised when he looked up to find that the maroon-haired trainer was now standing in front of him.
"Oh, Jeeze. You scared the heck outta me," Gregory said, his heart rate spiking as he flinched back in surprise. Bringing his hand up to his chest as if he could physically suppress the surging adrenaline.
"Sorry about that," she said. Gregory could hear a slight accent to her words as she spoke, "I just noticed you pointing that thing at me and was curious what it was."
That last part was said with a hint of accusation as she pointed at the red device in his hand. The Rookidee on her shoulder was also giving him a very intense stair. It took a second for Gregory to process the words that she had said, but then he realized, much too late, how it might've looked when he scanned her Pokemon with his Pokedex, especially since they were still not widespread.
"S-sorry, I wasn't pointing this at you-" She just raised an eyebrow at that, "I mean yes It was aimed in your direction, but i wasn't taking a picture or anything." Gregory hastily amended.
"With this, I can scan Pokemon, which will give me all sorts of information on them. I was actually scanning your Rookidee there since I've never seen one before," he said, giving her an apologetic smile.
"Seriously?" She said, her brow raised in disbelief. She hurriedly sat next to him to try and get a closer look at the device.
"yeah, here look," Gregory showed her the entry on Rookidee that he still had up. The little flying type still on her shoulder also leaned forward to try and get a peek.
"Man, that's so cool. Where did you even get this?" She asked excitedly. Gregory took the next few minutes to explain the task that Professor Elm had asked of them.
"I just realized I never introduced myself. My name is Leona," the now-named Leona said after a while.
"Nice to meet you, Leona. I'm Gregory. Sorry again about that whole misunderstanding."
"water under the bridge," she said, waving a hand through the air as if to ward away his apology. "So, are you going to be entering the tournament that's happening in the next few days?"
Before he could reply, Nora walked up, Mudkip following behind her. In her hand, Gregory could see that she was holding his Pokeballs.
"Hey Gregory, here are your Pokemon. They were done with their check-up right as I went to get Mudkip, so I told the nurse I would bring them to you. Hope you don't mind." Nora said as she passed the two red and white orbs to him.
"I don't mind; thanks for bringing them to me," Gregory said as he clipped them both back to his belt. Behind them was a loud cheer from a group of people watching an ACE trainer battle. The three of them briefly looked over at the group before turning back around.
Nora sat on the other side of him, then placed Mudkip onto her lap so she could stroke his slick back. Her eyes briefly flicked over to Leona; they seemed to focus on the girl's scars before she quickly looked away.
"Leona this is Nora, she has been traveling with me since we left New Bark Town," Gregory said.
"Hey, nice to meet you," the scarred girl said.
"Likewise," Nora said, giving her a smile and a nod.
"So you were saying something about a tournament?" Gregory said, picking up where they left off. He had to raise his voice just a bit. The room's noise level had increased as more trainers entered the lounge area. Most of them started queuing up at the cafeteria's counter.
"Yeah, here I still have the flyer," Leona said, pulling out a folded-up piece of paper. Unfolding it, she handed it over to Gregory. As he began to read, Nora leaned over to get a look at it too.
The big, bold lettering at the top of the paper said, "Cherrygrove City's first Annual Beginners Cup." Taking up most of the page was a graphic of two poke balls impacting each other with sparks flying from the contact point. Below are the address, date, and time of the event. The grand prize, also in big and bold lettering, for the winner was a 5000 credit prize and a portable Pokeblock maker.
Gregory's brow raised, his interest was peeked. Pokeblocks were condensed blocks of food that possessed high nutrient and caloric density. They were handy for Pokemon that required huge amounts of food. Right now, Gregory's Pokemon required relatively small amounts of food, but that would change as they evolved and he added more members to his team.
Looking back at the flier, Gregory saw a line of smaller print near the bottom.
Trainers interested in participating may not have any badges and can only use a maximum of two Pokemon. All who are interested can register at your nearest pokecenter or pokemart.'
“Well, we had planned to head to Violet City tomorrow. What do you think Nora?” Gregory asked as he turned to face her. He noticed, much to his amusement, that Nora was staring rather intensely at the line about the Pokeblock maker. Her desire was evident in her features.
“I think it’d be fine if we stayed a bit longer and compete,” she said, the words gushing out of her mouth in her haste.
“I guess we will be entering the tournament then,” Gregory chuckled to Leona, handing back the crumpled flier as he looked back at her. She had a bemused look on her face, though the tightness of her skin around the scars made the right side of her face appear pinched.
“I suppose we will have to go register then,” he continued as he got up from the couch, stretching his arms above his head. Mudkip croaked a low sound filled with dismay as Nora put him onto the floor, getting up to follow Gregory out.
“We will see you around!” they both called to Leona as they made their way back to the elevator.
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Here are the Pokedex entries for some of the Pokemon Gregory and Nora have encountered in this chapter:
Spearow can fly very high and fast but expend a lot of energy flapping their tiny wings to do so. Because of this, they can only fly for short distances. They flush out bugs by flapping their wings in tall grass to create gusts, like their relatives Pidgey. Spearow are highly aggressive and territorial, closely observing their land and letting out high-pitched shrieks that can be heard from over a half-mile (a kilometer) away to alert fellow Spearow of potential dangers. Though territorial against other Pokémon, Spearow are not solitary and will coexist with others of their kind. Their calls signal nearby Spearow to flock together and attack. Because they almost always attack in large flocks, Spearow can be very formidable foes despite their small size and individual weakness. Lone Spearow can be reckless when facing large foes, however. Flocks can be dangerous to unwary travelers, so trainers must always be cautious of Spearow cries while traveling through their territory. Farmers appreciate them, though, for clearing fields of pests.
Chansey are rare Pokémon whose eggs are greatly sought after, both because they have medicinal properties as well as because they are delicious. Chansey lay eggs every day and always carries one in their pouches. If they come across injured Pokémon or people, they will share their eggs with them and nurse them back to health. Because of their amazing abilities to heal Pokémon, it is most common to see Chansey working in Pokémon Centers; their eggs are sometimes called 'doctor's doubles.' Chansey treated with affection are said to lay more nutritious and tasty eggs. Their eggs are believed to bring happiness to consumers and restore the appetites of those who lost them in sickness. Though very kind and generous, Chansey will refuse to share their eggs with those with pure malice in their hearts. They are forgiving, however, and will gladly share with those who prove that they have changed their ways. Catching these elusive Pokémon is said to grant eternal happiness. Chansey normally walk slowly to protect their eggs but can dash surprisingly quickly when spooked. Chansey are endangered due to past overharvesting of their eggs; some scientists even believe that modern Chansey have evolved to be even faster at fleeing due to this selective pressure.
Mareep are a common sight on farms, raised for their soft, fluffy wool. Their wool is used to make various different articles of clothing like jackets and sweaters, though it must first be treated to reduce its static-generating properties. Their coats grow continuously but are shed periodically every summer. If sheared, this wool can grow back within a week. Their fur stores pockets of air that insulate them, keeping Mareep warm during colder months and cool during hotter ones. As they wander about, their wool, which generates static very easily, rubs together and begins storing electricity. Their coats will double in size once fully charged. Because touching their wool in this state would lead to a nasty shock, it is necessary for ranch hands to don rubber gloves while shearing or otherwise handling flocks of Mareep. The small orbs at the end of their tails will glow more brightly depending on how much static electricity they have charged up in their wool. Experienced trainers and farm workers will know on sight whether or not a Mareep is safe to touch, depending on the intensity of its bulb.
Upon evolution, Flaaffy develop sections of skin in which wool no longer grows. Their skin, which is bare in these areas, feels like rubber and is nonconductive. Scientists have theorized that this adaptation developed to prevent these Pokémon from harming themselves with their own electricity, which, as Mareep, they were prone to do (the reason why Mareep shed so often is to protect themselves from their own static). Flaaffy will also begin to grow bald in patches where static generation is abnormally high. To make up for the smaller quantities of wool on their bodies, Flaaffy wool is much higher in quality and can store more electricity. Because it is softer, this wool is more prized; it is harder to come by and more pricey, though, because Flaaffy don’t shed as often as Mareep. Because of its texture and price tag, Flaaffy wool is very popular among those following cutting-edge fashion. Flaaffy can fire strands of their wool at opponents to electrocute them. They produce static by rubbing their wool together. When they are fully charged, the bulbs at the end of their tails will glow brightly.
Vulpix are born with only a single, white tail. As they mature, their tails split and turn a shade of vermillion that deepens the more affection the Pokémon receive. Vulpix have internal flames that never die out, radiating heat throughout their fur. They may release flames from their mouths to expel excess heat and cool themselves down on hot days. They often attack foes with Fire-type techniques such as Flamethrower and Ember but also have control over a few Ghost-type moves like Confuse Ray, Hex, and Grudge. Vulpix are often associated with the attack Will-O-Wisp, which they use to chase down prey. To escape from foes, they may feign injury to buy themselves time to flee. Though they generally make their homes in grassy plains, as Fire-types, Vulpix also can be found near volcanoes in large populations—and curiously enough, also near cemeteries such as Mt. Pyre in Hoenn. Vulpix can spew fires that are said to resemble lost souls, leading many to believe that they have a very close tie with the spirit world. Young Vulpix grow quite attached to their trainers, much like their relatives Growlithe.