Humans at their very core are cowards.

Acting all tough and mighty at first but whenever something goes wrong, the first thought in their mind is to flee! To hide! Or to bury themselves in the ground.

So it is perfectly normal. Not weird at all. Totally acceptable, that in this scenario, I would be scared, right?

I clenched my flashlight and tightened my grip on the camera whilst looking at the two lustrous orbs that floated above the girls head. Below the two orbs lays a wide grin that revealed a set of razor sharp teeth.

I couldn't see much of anything else due to the darkness and the fog, I have my flashlight but somehow it couldn't pass through the veil of shadows the creature covered itself in.

What kind of pokemon is that!? Should I run? Abandon this hopeless exploration and lock myself at the Pokemon Center? What about the girl then!?

I shot a look at the girl. She was still standing normally as if there wasn't a creature standing in front of her.

Is she frozen as well? Or is she unaware.

The girl noticed me staring and smiled, making me flinch. She stepped forward moving closer to me and went right up to my face. We both looked at each other and things paused for a moment.

She leaned in but I leaned back, stepping a few steps backwards. She let out a huff of breath and I could feel the warm breath graze my skin.

She brought her hands up and my eyes followed her hands, never letting it go from my sight. They moved slowly up into the air until it reached her head where she put her arms on the creature.

She picked it up and the pokemon didn't even utter a noise of complaint or any kind of sound. They simply kept silent as they were raised to the sky and brought down to my face at a leisurely pace.

The pokemon's grin grew wider.

I tell myself to breathe all the time whenever I'm nervous and this case wasn't any different, the only difference is that I'm practically shouting it to myself within my mind.

BREATHE damn you!!!

Inhale!

Exhale!

Look at the girl! She doesn't look nervous at all! It's fine! Calm down!

It's probably her pokemon. Don't worry. Inhale! Exhale! Focu-

The girl pushed the pokemon's face to mine and contact was immediately felt as my nose pressed on the part of the creature's face where its nose is supposed to be if it had one.

"Boop!" The girl said loudly, loud enough that it was bordering to a yell.

"Wha-!" My eyes widened and I stumbled a few steps back.

"What was that about!" I shouted and pointed my finger at the two.

Both the girl and the creature cackled and laughed themselves to a point where they swayed and almost fell to the ground.

"I- ah um" I didn't know what to say or how to even react, it was way too sudden and so unexpected.

I waited for the two to stop their endless laughter first. They eventually did a few moments later and I coughed to clear my voice.

"I take it, that this..." I still couldn't tell who the pokemon was despite it being closer to me, I frowned and decided to ignore it for now

"Is your pokemon...?" I pointed at the creature and at her.

The girl beamed, nodding several times and making a heart gesture with her hands.

I sighed in relief. The heck!? Then I have nothing to worry about.

The girl continued on making gestures, pointing at the pokemon within her embrace and then putting her hand above her head, looking side to side and then signalling to the both of us.

"So..." She was copying the same actions I did before. Looking side to side should mean searching, "They would help us? Find the ghost we were looking for...?" I re-enacted her gestures then imitated a ghost.

She smiled and formed a thumbs up.

I- that's actually good as long as they won't actively harm me. Now we can find a ghost much faster.

All the tension fully left my body and I focused my attention on the camera that I had been ignoring for a while.

"Remind me to cut out parts of this video..." I mumbled to myself and positioned the camera in a better angle.

"Well, guess what! It seems that the girl had a pokemon that can help find the one that made that ringing noise or better yet, a ghost!"

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

I turned the camera towards the creature but then they started to screech and the shadows suddenly moved violently

Nope! What the heck was that!?

I immediately turned the camera away from them and they stopped, the shadows returning to normal as I did.

The girl let out a gasp and to my surprise, she slapped the pokemon in the head! And sent a nod my way while quickly returning to admonishing the creature with little taps on the head.

"I... They're... pretty shy so they wouldn't show themselves in the camera." I said.

The pokemon grunted at my words, leaping off from the girl's hold and into a tree. The girl gestured at him with her hands, forming signs that I do not know the meaning of and the pokemon actually responded.

The shadows around them twisted and twisted until they formed a vague, human looking hands. They performed some similar looking signs the girl had used and then leapt off again from where they were standing.

Now on another tree, they kept leaping again and again from tree to tree, quickly distancing themselves from us and then soon, they were consumed by the fog and I could no longer see where they ran off to.

Was that sign language...? No wait they just left us!

"Shouldn't we follow them?" I stared at the girl and signalled at the both of the us and at the direction where the creature was last seen.

She shrugged and walked normally.

Huh, what is she doing? Is she taking my speed to her consideration? Is that why she's moving so slow? Although, the way she's moving can only be described as sluggish though.

This feels like an insult.

"Let's leave all the searching to the pokemon then." I said to the camera and catched up with the girl.

"Wait, I still haven't gotten the girl's name, perhaps I should ask... Hm?"

My shirt is being tugged by the girl.

She pointed at my camera and opened both of her hands and brought them close to each other.

"Are you interested in the camera?" I shook the said object a little.

The girl nodded.

...Well, she is helping me so it would be a bit rude to just deny her. I figured that nothing bad or serious would happen anyway if I gave it to her so I did.

I offered it to her and she took it before it could even reach her hands and she instantly began swirling around as soon as she got it. She is really getting her face close to the lens and she's making all sorts of poses and faces.

She spun around and looked at me, aiming the camera at me and made a bunch of noises.

"Uhh what am I supposed to do?" I tilted my head.

The girl looked at me blankly before doing a peace sign and forming a grin on her face, then after a second, she suddenly stood straight and started saluting, while erasing the grin from her face and any other emotion she was showing.

Oh, she wants me to pose.

"You know we're on video right...? It's not taking pictures at the momen- Well I guess that's not important, fine, let me show you how to really pose."

I didn't bother translating my words to her and let my actions be the one to communicate.

I took a deep breath and focused, remembering all of the stances, postures and poses that the models used in the fashion magazine I happened to have read in the Pokemon Center's waiting area

I did them all. Quickly switching from one pose to another, positioning my hand here to there and positioning my body to that and to this, I executed it all neatly and perfectly and I expected the spectator's reaction to be nothing else than—

Roaring laughter.

I straightened up. Blink at the sight of a girl laughing without a care for their volume or their appearance.

"Some people don't appreciate real talent" I shake my head

The girl blinked at me and she held a hand over her mouth, forcing herself to stop laughing but still, some escaped her mouth and she started to laugh once more

A small smile entered my lips.

I pointed at myself, posed and made a thumbs up. Then, I pointed at the girl, posed and made a thumbs down.

The girl gasped. She pointed at herself and made a thumbs up but I swung my head left and right.

The girl whined and I found myself laughing along with her.

________________________________

We continue to move on at our own pace, being guided by the girl's pokemon who would sometimes appear and made us walk to a new direction.

I have my doubts at first and that we're just roaming around meaninglessly but I was proven wrong when the ringing sounded out once again, sounding even closer than it did before.

Guessing by the volume of the sound by the last time I've heard it, it wouldn't take any much longer to find its source. Probably a few more minutes of walking and we'll discover whoever is making that noise.

Meanwhile, during our walk. The girl would question me all sorts of things, like my favorite color, my favorite pokemon, or my favorite anything! Some of the time I didn't even understand what she was asking about.

Like right now.

The girl grunted, repeating a gesture that she had done five times already.

She pointed at her eyes and then she was grabbing something invisible in the air and putting it inside her mouth, then she created a heart sign with her hands.

"Is she asking what my favorite... food is...?" I mumbled.

Her questions are so complicated to answer to using only acting to convey my answers and I have to guess what her question is in the first place.

I handed her the flashlight and the camera and I tried my best to answer her question, moving my hand to mimic a person eating a juicy burger.

The girl narrowed her eyes, making a cross with her arms and groaned loudly.

"Seriously, what is it!?" I shrug exaggeratedly at her.

She stomped her foot and gave the camera to me, pointing multiple times at it and something clicked within me.

"I actually haven't watched any movies yet." I made a cross.

She tilted her head.

I re-did my action and made sure to point at the camera this time.

She widened her eyes and gasped, putting the hand she held the flashlight with over her mouth.

"It's not that shocking, besides I was planning to go watch some on my... phone." I slapped my face before I even began the translation for her.

How could I forget my phone!? I could've written what I was saying and cut the need for charading! I didn't have to stand in confusion while trying to guess a question for five times.

Groaning at myself, I grabbed my phone out of my pocket and started typing the exact words I have said.

She blinked at the sight of the phone and she blinked twice and then even more.

She inserted the flashlight in her armpit and fished out something from her pocket as well and took out a similar looking gadget.

...She had a phone this whole time too!?

We stared at each other.

"We're dumb." I said while typing and showing it to her.

[Agreed.] She sent.

The girl tinkered with her phone for several seconds before showing me a big block of text.

[What did you say about not seeing any movies at all! That's what you meant right? Or have I misinterpreted? That would be embarrassing. Anyway how is that even possible! Surely your parents would take you to go see a movie sometimes! I'm sure my parents did. If you really haven't seen any movies before I'd recommend 'Litleo king' or 'Finding Luvdisc', both are my favorites.]

I scrunched up my eyes at the long text she'd sent me. She sure is talkative for someone that isn't able to communicate with her voice.

I took the time to read her text and I took some more time in formulating my own message.

[The place where I once lived didn't have a place to watch movies.]

She frowned at this [Where do you live that doesn't have a place to watch movies in! I'm not even sure if a place like that exists! Even Fortree has one and they live in the middle of the forest.!

"Well..." I slowly typed while I said it out loud [The place I lived, I don't even think it's a place that you can see on the map.]

I watched as the girl types her response and as she finishes and shows it to me, a familiar sound of screeching resonates throughout the air.

My head jolted to where the screeching came from—The girl's pokemon is sailing through the air and landed right next to me with a thud.

Then the shadows moved once again, making all sorts of signs and movements that I still couldn't understand.

The girl nodded, understanding it all and made a few signs to the pokemon. She then tapped several times on her phone and clued me in.

[I think Sally here has found your ghost!]

"Finally!" I cheered.

[Let's go] The girl typed and pocketed her phone, grabbing my hand and handing me the flashlight back while she kept the camera with her free hand.

"Huh?"

She dragged me along with her, running suddenly without warning and taking me along. I stumbled the first few steps and when I finally balanced myself, the girl quickened even more

"Wait hold on for a moment!" I yelled

Does she really think I'm so slow that she has to hold my hand!?

I oriented myself and ran properly, breaking free from the girl's hold and she only looked at me while smiling as a response.

The girl's pokemon ran ahead of us and I made sure to focus the flashlight on them as best as I could.

They were increasingly speeding up and I was worried we're gonna get left behind when they suddenly jumped inside a bush.

The girl and I halted and looked at each other.

"Ladies first...?"

She rolled her eyes and pushed me into the bush and jumped into it right after. I felt the bush's leaves brush past my body then we were out.

I took a moment to sweep a few leaves that got stuck on my hair clothes and to release myself from the girl's hand.

The only problem is, she didn't let me.

"Hey! Let go alread-"

A pokemon was right in front of us and it wasn't hers but a completely different pokemon.

Despite the darkness that surrounds us, the pokemon appeared perfectly visible to me. Its body is glowing slightly and there was light coming off from its eyes and I could feel it washing over me, analyzing my every move and just making me want to scratch every part of my body.

Its entire body is encased in golden fur and behind the pokemon are nine tails that were raised threateningly at us.

A pokemon with golden fur and eyes that makes you feel uncomfortable along with a set of nine tails. It was clear to me who this pokemon is.

It is Ninetales.