Re: After the End
Thorn woke up.
She was in a small town in Kanto. The very town where she had been born and raised. The one where she had met Blaze, her first Pokemon, who had been a pet before she started training. The place she had been when the world had ended.
The streets were empty. No children were laughing and playing, no cars went by. It was obviously nighttime, but there was no stars, no moon. Just a black cover over the earth, with nothing but lampposts to light the town.
It was winter, too. There was snow on the ground, but it didn't sparkle in the light of the lamps. It was also like a blanket, but white rather than black. There were, however, footprints in the snow, leading to a place half a block away.
She followed them with her eyes, and saw a tiny Growlithe, walking the street and whimpering. It was Blaze, she recognized. She remembered this time, the time when Blaze had been playing happily in the snow and gotten lost.
But she could see Blaze beside her, too.
He was looking up at Thorn with round, confused eyes, wordlessly asking what was going on.
"I don't know," she said in answer.
She felt at the belt she wore for two reasons: because her pants were too big and to hold her Poke Balls. There were no Poke Balls, though.
She was more worried about this now than the two whining puppies and their odd surroundings. She was sure that most of them could take care of themselves. She was more worried about the ones who weren't usually as serious, or had some kind of problem. Swirl, who was just a baby, all out on his own... Blip, so energetic and careless... And Claw, with no Scizor or anyone else to watch her, would she run away?
She started to run, thinking while doing that. It was calming to feel the cold air whip across her face, for some reason. The Blaze who could see her followed, the younger one in the past did not notice them at all, and they made no footprints.
She looked up, realizing that she was at her home. Her feet had trodden the path so many times, they could subconciously follow it, even when her brain was thinking of other things. Thorn tested the doorknob; it was unlocked. She pushed open the door, wondering what would be inside.
Empty.
No one was there. Her parents were gone, along with every bit of furniture. The hardwood floors and carpets had obviously once been pretty, enjoyable to walk on and look at. Now they were covered with dust, and cobwebs hung in every corner.
She walked up the stairs to her room, dusting aside a few cobwebs that had long ago been abandoned. She pushed open the door just like she had with the front one, and unlike the other rooms, this one was still in brand-new condition. There was a single object lying in the middle of the floor, something she had spent quite a bit of allowance money on but had foolishly forgotten at home, only remembering it after she was already far away.
A Fire Stone.
She had always planned to use it for Blaze eventually, but never got around to it, even when she sometimes came home. Thorn had always liked him as a Growlithe, and he liked himself as a Growlithe, too.
But now the one that was with her began to pad forward, hesitantly at first, then more confident with each step. Thorn had never realized how mature he looked now, compared to the poor puppy on the street. And when he spoke, his voice was much deeper than the squeak it had been.
"I'm ready."
He took the last step needed, and bent down to touch the Fire Stone with his nose. The shiny gleam of it took over him now, and he was glowing. He was getting bigger, his mane fluffing out, his tail getting longer. Thorn felt nostalgic for a few seconds. Her first Pokemon had grown up, she realized. The others aren't far... and then it's my turn.
The glow faded, and the Fire Stone sunk into the carpet, looking like any ordinary gray rock now, except for the flame symbol still on its surface. Blaze looked far from the dull appearance of the stone now. He still seemed to radiate, almost. He now looked bigger, more adult, than the Growlithe Thorn had come to love.
"I feel... powerful," he said, his voice now even deeper, almost a growl, and he dashed around the room at speeds he could've never managed before, then breathed a flame that was noticably larger and hotter than any he had ever made. "I think...
"Maybe we have a real chance at saving the world now.
"Not just a hope. A possibility."
