From her perch on the rocky outcropping in the back of the enclosure, Fennekin sat and watched the others play by the water's edge. As they chased each other around or competed in bouts of play wrestling, their happy laughter rang out in the open space within the glass walls of their habitat.

The elm branch that she chewed on was bland, able to nourish her body but providing no stimulation to her taste buds. She sighed, pushing it away for now.

Fennekin was bored. In the months since she's been here, she has already explored every inch of this cage. Any novelty of its environment has long since worn away. The other Pokemon that she shared the space with were content to spend their time in mock battles. When not doing that, they played and frolicked through the grass and small trees that lined the side of the space. She was not a stranger to battle but wouldn't consider herself overly competitive. So endlessly testing herself against her fellows did not appeal to her. Just as the same games of hide and seek or tag brought her no more entertainment, it became trivial as there could only be so many spots to hide in the pre-defined space they had to work with.

Occasionally, one of the humans with the white coats would come in and take her out beyond the glass for a time. They took her upstairs, where they would poke, prod, or scan her with strange machines. As they made scribbles of ink in journals or clacked away in front of a bright multi-hued screen, their voices would fill the air as they jabbered at each other. That was how she learned to read their body language.

Despite their prodding, these moments were her favorite. The window in the room allowed her to look out into a wide-open pasture that sat in the shadow of a giant mountain. She could see many other Pokemon roaming through the grassy fields. The green boughs of trees surrounded it, and in the center was a large pond. In its clear blue water, she saw water pokemon jump and swim on its surface. The sun's light reflected off the droplets of water that trailed behind as they splashed back beneath the water's rippling surface. Every time she gazed out that window, she imagined herself out there. The shaded undergrowth would surround her as she explored the forest. The cold, whipping wind would pull at her fur as she scaled to the mountain's peak off in the distance.

Sometimes, she fantasized about exploring the depths of caves after having evolved into a Braixen, or even a Delphox, using the light of her own fire to illuminate her way through the darkness. She would have to keep her wits about her as there would undoubtedly be traps and guardians to protect the treasure hidden within.

She didn't care where she went; she just wanted to experience life on an adventure. What strange lands would she discover? What interesting secrets could she uncover? Fennekin didn't know, and that was the problem. So yes, Fennekin was very, very bored.

—-—-—-—-

"-you're sure spoiled for choice! My colleagues provided us with many rare Pokemon from their respective regions!"

Fennekin heard the voice of one of the humans with the white coats as he walked down the stairs. This was the taller of the humans, thinner, and with a messy patch of fur on the top of his head. This one was her favorite; he would always feed her some bluk berries after he finished his prodding. Or he would let her spend a little extra time upstairs so that she could look out the window and get lost in a daydream. He only took her back downstairs after he finished making his notes in the indecipherable scribbles his kind was known for.

'I wonder who he will be taking up this time,' Fennekin thought, getting up from her usual perch. These always seemed to be some new test or measurement for them to take.

She yawned widely, which caused her jaw to pop as she got to her feet. She let her back legs trail behind her in a way that stretched them out. Fennekin jumped down to the grass to join the other Pokemon around the small watering hole.

On her way over, she saw little Cyndaquil waddling over to take a drink from the tiny pond. He was one of the newest arrivals to the enclosure, having only just hatched from his egg a month ago. Cyndaquil would sometimes follow Fennekin around and ask her all sorts of questions that only toddlers could. She always enjoyed the distraction he provided her. As she joined him by the pool to take her own drink, she noticed him looking out at the far side of the room.

That was when she noticed the new arrival that followed behind the bespeckled man. It was another human, but this one was smaller and looked younger. He had shaggy black fur on his head hidden below a strange covering that shared its same dark hues. However, the part that drew her attention was the excited sparkle in his brown eyes. The way he gazed at the enclosures with such wonder made it hard for Fennekin not to be curious about this strange turn of events.

"So in here, you will find all the grass-type Pokemon-" she overheard the taller human say as they walked over to the enclosure on the right of Fennekin's.

Her eyes tracked their movement until they went out of view.

"What do you suppose this is all about?" she asked nobody in particular.

"The old human I used to live with told me that sometimes they send their young out into the world with a Pokemon companion. Maybe that is what's happening here?" Charmander said with a shrug of his orange scaly shoulders. He only gave the two humans a passing glance, not interested at all in their presence.

"Alright Chimchar, this time you're going down," He said, the fire that perpetually tipped his tail swishing as he turned and pointed a claw in challenge at the little red monkey Pokemon.

All Fennekin heard in reply was a mocking cackle. She didn't even turn to look at the impending battle as, at that moment, the boy and the older human stopped in front of the glass that made the front of the habitat.

"This one is home to all the fire-type Pokemon, which includes Charmander, Cyndaquil, Torchic, Chimchar, Tepig, Fennekin, and Scorbunny," The man droned, it looked to Fennekin that the boy only half heard what was being said.

The boy's eyes briefly traveled to each Pokemon, lingering a little longer on the match between Charmander and Chimchar. However, it was less a match and more like uncoordinated flailing of limbs as the two hot-headed young Pokemon were still getting used to how their bodies could move.

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Finally, the boy's eyes locked with Fennekin's. She felt a shock as something traveled through her. A longing that burned in her chest. It was the same feeling she got when she daydreamed while looking out the window upstairs. The feeling remained inside her as they moved on to the next enclosure, growing more intense as the seconds passed, bubbling up to a fever pitch.

At that moment, Fennekin had made a decision. She would not be staying in this place a second longer. She just hoped that Charmander had been right about what the boy's presence meant. She felt as if she would wither away if she had to continue on wearing holes into the earth, pacing about in the same tired motions of these past few months that her life had fallen into.

A few minutes elapsed, and then Fennekin saw the boy walk past by himself back to the habitat on the right side. She felt her tail and ears droop a little as he didn't even glance their way as he passed. The sting of disappointment hit her harder than she expected. The feeling in her chest extinguished, leaving an empty hole in its place. With a sigh, she was just about to head back to her perch in the outcroppings when she caught movement out of the corner of her eye.

The young boy had stepped back in front of her enclosure. His eyes roamed over the inhabitants with a considering gaze. Her ears shot back up, and her tail wagged slightly, its earlier despondence forgotten. Hope filled her chest once more.

'Now's my chance!' she thought, her body already in motion.

Before he had even stopped in front of the glass, Fennekin was bounding toward him. The hope that was building inside her did not allow her to be slow about it. When she reached the glass, she sat, gazing up at the boy.

'Pick me, Pick me. I want an adventure, so please take me with you. If you want a companion, here I am,' she thought repeatedly as if reciting a mantra. She acted as if, through willpower alone, she could influence his decision.

His eyes lit up, a joyful smile turning the corners of his mouth upward as he knelt in front of the glass. He raised one hand, placing it on the glass to keep his balance.

"Do you want to come with me on my journey, Fennekin?" the boy asked, that same glint of excitement dancing within his brown eyes.

Fennekin wasn't able to understand everything that humans said. However, she could pick up the intent and context clues based on the tone and little clues she got from their body language. So, she got the gist of what he had just asked her. Once his meaning clicked, she jumped excitedly onto the glass, one of her paws landing in line with his hand.

"Yes, I'll go with you!," She yipped joyfully.

His grin grew wider as he called back over his shoulder to the man in the lab coat. They exchanged a few more words before the taller human left and returned, holding a red and white sphere in the palm of his hand. The excitement Fennekin felt dimmed at the sight. She knew what those did. The sphere's light would engulf her, and then she would be in darkness. It wouldn't hurt, and she could hear things that happened outside it, but she would be unable to move. She would prefer the boredom of the enclosure to the sphere.

As the ball was passed to the boy and the glass door was opened, they exchanged some more words, too fast for her to attempt to decipher. The taller human made some erratic gestures as he spoke. As if his words demanded the gestures to articulate their meaning correctly.

Fennekin watched as his hand pointed to the sphere, then to the boy, and finally to her. After he had finished speaking, the boy looked between the ball and her a few times before he got back down on a knee in front of her.

"So what do you say, girl? Wanna walk with me?" he asked.

"I'll walk. I don't want to miss a thing!" She quickly picked up on the meaning of his words, answering him with barely any hesitation. The boy gave her a grin that showed a glimpse of blunt white teeth before they began to make their way up the stairs. Fennekin happily trotted behind him, his longer stride requiring her to put more effort into keeping pace.

"Oh my gosh, she is sooo cute!" A loud voice called out as they entered the door at the top of the stairs.

The unexpected sound startled Fennekin, causing her to jump behind the boy's legs. After a second to collect herself, she peeked around and saw two other young humans talking with her new partner. One, another boy but with short blonde fur atop his head, was giving her a measuring look. One that seemed to find her lacking in some way. Fennekin did not like it one bit, so raising her snout, she gave him a dismissive huff as she promptly looked away. She saw the other human walk by them, this one a girl, going down the stairs they had just walked up. Her partner had said something to the girl, redirecting her earlier excitement to somewhere else.

'Looks like I won't be the only one getting out of those glass prisons, ' Fennekin mused.

Gregory, she assumed it was his name as all those around him kept addressing him as such, brought out a strange red box-like object from his pocket. She heard a strange voice start speaking from it, causing her to tilt her head curiously.

"Fennekin, The Fox Pokemon…."

She listened to the voice, trying to decipher what it was saying. Gregory looked to be focused intently on what was being said; his eyes would occasionally flick to her as it droned on. That was when she realized it was talking about her.

'What could it possibly be saying about me?' she wondered, not really able to understand everything it had said. 'And how would it even know what to say?' She pondered this as the monotone voice paused before continuing again.

These words she did know. However, if someone were to ask, she couldn't tell you how she did. Each one corresponded to how she focused her energy to perform attacks. The sound of each word was like the distilled intent behind the multitude of internal actions she had to do to use the move.

Finally, the voice stopped, and Gregory got down on a knee in front of her.

"Remind me to get you some sticks later, okay girl?" the boy said.

'Well, I guess it told him about what I like to eat,' She thought as he slowly brought one of his hands toward her. She sniffed at it when it stopped just before her face. She detected various scents on him, many she had never smelt before.

'Is that what it smells like outside?' she pondered.

There was one that underlies all the others; Its faint aroma evoked a comforting feeling. Fennekin mentally connected it with Gregory.

Finished with her inspection, he reached further, running it between her ears. His fingers were gentle. His palm's weight and slight warmth soothed her as it made a steady rubbing motion over the fur of her head.

Fennekin couldn't remember the last time she received affection like this. A vague flash of memory hit her, a glimpse of a black paw and dark red fur followed by red eyes full of love, gone as fast as it arrived.

The other humans she interacted with, those wearing white coats, were only interested in the readings and figures their machines gave them. Even the tall one with the glasses she liked would only give her a few pats, which were given in a brusque manner. Unable to even come close to the same feeling of comfort she was experiencing now. They had never hurt her, but she could tell that Gregory cared greatly about her. In the few minutes that she'd known him, he never lost that look of wonderment he had when she had approached him.

So Fennekin decided to give him some affection in return. Using his leg as a springboard to jump up to his shoulder, she gave him a single lick across the cheek. She rubbed her cheek briefly against his in mimicry of an embrace, which caused him to huff amusedly as he got up to his feet. From her new vantage point, she could once again see the fields, forest, and far-off mountain through the room's back window.

She once again slid into fantasies of all sorts of adventures that she could experience in the outside world. Only now, it wasn't just her exploring the untold number of new sights, sounds, and experiences out there in the wide world. Now, she was joined by the human boy she had chosen to be her companion.

Fennekin has had many dreams of the wider world outside the glass habitat, all of which she thought were just that, dreams. However, it seemed that they just got a whole lot more possible, she thought as she flicked her eyes briefly to Gregory before the outside world grabbed her attention once more.

So Fennekin may have started the day bored out of her mind, but it seemed that that was about to change.