Chapter 10
It was a long, long way back to the base. Not only did Char, Saura, and Scythe have to walk all the way around the Jaded Woods and back down the entire path, they had to do so with a bag full of valuables. Char tried not to whine about the discomfort, but couldn't always help himself. Whenever he'd complain, Scythe would assure him that he was building his endurance and that it wouldn't always be this hard. Still, it didn't do much to comfort his weary limbs.
As soon as Char regained his awareness from the memory loss spell, he found himself sprawled across the floor in Scythe's room. His feet and his arms both hurt like nothing he'd known before, throbbing constantly as they tried to regain strength.
"Ugh… what a day…" Saura moaned, lying on his side. "That was a lot of walking."
"You're telling me!" Char groaned back. "You didn't even have to carry the bag!"
"Hey, you think this thing on my back is light?" Saura griped. "I have trouble traveling long distances anyway because of this seed. I know exactly how you feel."
A few moments passed in silence as the two tired little Pokémon enjoyed the peace.
"So… what do you think?" Char asked again, hoping Saura would respond this time.
"Score one for Team Peanuts, I guess," Saura said, rolling his eyes. "I'll admit, I was a bit disheartened today because of the accidents. And it was so tiring… But I'm sure we'll get better as we go, just like Scythe said…"
As the two laid in silence, Char's mind floated back to the events of the day. He remembered the sight of that Croagunk as it cast its last threatening gaze…
It was no match for Scythe, but… Scythe wouldn't always be there to protect us, Char thought. If they come back to exact revenge when Scythe isn't there, will we be strong enough to defeat them?
Char then thought about something else which wasn't sitting well with him: the vision of Dialga.
He had seen it twice already: first as a memory jogged by laying eyes upon the statue of the dragon in the deserted meeting hall, and then again after passing out from poison. It had indeed been the same vision both times, but the second time had been clearer – clearer enough to see that object, that vitally important object, which hovered before the dragon.
But what was it?
I just don't remember, Char cried inwardly. It's right there in front of me, but I can't… I can't reach out and grab it! If only there were other ways to jog my memory…
Char tossed and turned on the floor, trying to find a position that wouldn't strain any of his poor muscles. But just when he thought he found a comfortable place, voices arose from outside the closed door.
"Good, and now that you've had the opportunity to lead them through a trial run, they can go out on their own," a voice said.
Daemon! Char realized, recognizing the voice. He must be talking about us!
Char heard Scythe respond, but his voice was much lower than the hound's. Char couldn't quite tell what he was saying.
"Scythe… how are they ever to learn?" Daemon grumbled. "You can't coddle them! What good will that do!? They need to learn to depend on themselves!"
Char crawled across the room and listened intently through the door, but still couldn't make out anything Scythe said.
"Then when do you plan to have them ready?!" Daemon spat. "In two days? Three? You said you'd train them, not do all their work for them! Send them out on their own mission and see how they fare. If they're to fail, they need to learn what failure tastes like! They'll grow much stronger that way."
Pressing his ear against the door, Char could finally hear Scythe's voice.
"No," Scythe said. "They won't. At this point, failure could destroy them. I must keep protecting them for the time being. I'll start to let them take control of the missions themselves, but I'll continue to stay with them."
The hound growled in protest.
"Scythe, do what you will," he grumbled, "but remember that we have a reputation to uphold. If we, Team Remorse, are to train this 'Team Peanuts', we must train them by our ways. And so far, I believe that you are giving them the wrong impression of our ways. Only suffering and failure can light the fire within, and make them understand what it means to fight. These children must be taught to feel that fire, or they will be useless to us and to the entire division."
"They'll suffer plenty, with or without my help," Scythe said lowly. "You don't need to worry about that part."
At the sound of shuffling feet from outside, Char quickly leapt away from the door and back to Saura's side.
"Huh?" Saura responded, halfway asleep.
Ignoring him, Char waited for the door to open and someone to barge in. After a few more minutes of Scythe and Daemon discussing some ongoing conflict at a place called Basin Canyon, the Scyther barged in.
"What? Asleep already?" he called loudly, entering his room and dropping a bag onto the floor. "What's the deal, sleeping in the middle of the day? We aren't nocturnal, you know…"
"Day?" Saura wearily replied.
"You thought it was night already?" Scythe laughed, stepping up to them and shoving them both with the blunt ends of his blades. "It's only the middle of the afternoon. There's still plenty of daylight left to get things done. Anyway, just now, I recorded the day's mission, and I put all the valuables into storage so they can be examined later. Next time, I'll have to show you how that's done. But for today… I'll let you go free."
"Free to do what?" Char wondered.
"Do whatever you feel you need to do," Scythe said. "Remember, I'm just your guide. You're your own team. You should take this time to go about the base and find things to do that will benefit your team. I wouldn't recommend leaving the base, but you're free to go wherever you want."
Scythe almost shoved the lazy Saura a second time, but he jumped up to his feet and leapt out of the way.
"Okay, we'll go already," Saura said, shaking his head. "Hmm, Char… I don't know.I feel like getting something to drink. I'm famished after that walk."
"Great! Go on down to the mess hall, then," Scythe said. "Just be back before nightfall. When you get back, I'll show you how to prepare for tomorrow's mission. Then, we can all get some sleep."
"Fine with me," Char said, following Saura to the door.
"Oh, and one more thing," Scythe said just as they were about to leave, complete with his devious smile. "Two more stanzas."
Char and Saura groaned in unison.
… … …
"So, where should we go?" Char asked as they walked through the now-crowded upper level of the base. "We can go have lunch, but what about after that? Where can we go to… 'benefit our team'?"
"I thought Team Remorse got their food delivered," Saura grumbled. "But anyway, Scythe obviously wants us to memorize more of that dumb poem."
"I know, but what else?" Char said. "He said it as if… eh, how about we just think about it while we eat?"
"Sounds good to me," Saura shrugged. "Now, which way was the mess hall again…?"
… … …
Down in the cafeteria, the lines were quite longer than they were the previous day. The training teams, which all finished their shorter and significantly easier missions, were all filing past the counters and making it hard to move around. Char stood in line, wondering if it was ever going to move faster. Saura couldn't do much to help him carry food, but he stood in line to keep him company.
"Hey! Careful where you swing that thing!" a voice yelped from behind Char.
Char turned to find a Treecko, and a female one at that, cowering against the wall in overly-exaggerated fear of his burning tail.
"Uh… sorry?" Char said meekly, gathering his tail in his hands.
"Thank you," she sighed, regaining its composure. "Some of us burn easily, you know. But hey… wow. You're an actual Charmander! I've never actually seen one of your kind, only in pictures. You must be those kids training with Team Remorse."
"Yeah!" Saura said, grinning. "That's us! We're Team Peanuts! Nice to meet you!"
"Well hey, I'm Taka," the Treecko said, shaking Char's hand and patting Saura on the nose. "I'm only on a training team right now, Team Stripes. They work us really hard, but I can't imagine how much harder Team Remorse is working you two!"
"Uh… yeah," Char said.
"You're so lucky. You must be getting the best training of any newbies ever to set foot in this base. How's Scythe treating you?"
"He's… pretty nice, actually," Char said, taking a step forward with the rest of the line.
"He's an undisputed genius," Taka continued. "I read about some of the things Team Remorse has done, and wow, talk about achieving the impossible! I'd give anything to be in your place."
Char was about to respond, but a new voice called from nearby. A Raichu pushed his way through the crowd.
"Hey, Taka, there you are!" it said. "Sorry, I had to spend an hour unpacking. Mind if I…?"
"Yeah, go ahead…" Taka said, rolling her eyes and letting him in line.
"Hey, aren't you Ray?" Saura asked the Raichu. "Didn't we meet this morning on the elevator?"
"Oh, hey, it is you!" Raichu laughed. "Team Peanuts! Nice to meet you again! Want to chat over some food?"
… … …
Ten minutes later, the group finally got their food and sat down together. Char determined the food to be sweet potatoes—or something similar—and dug in. Saura downed a whole bowl of water in what seemed like a heartbeat. The other two Pokémon ate their food much more slowly, chatting at every opportunity between bites.
"So, how did it go?" Ray asked eagerly. "How was Team Peanuts' first mission? Come back with a lot of good stuff? Did Scythe teach you any of his secrets yet?"
"It went fine, I think," Char said, awkwardly playing with his empty plate. "We made some mistakes along the way, but we made it. We uncovered a thieves' den and came back with their stuff. I think the police is gonna try to give most of it back to their rightful owners, so we don't get to keep it, but yeah… it was a good trip."
"Wow, incredible!" Ray cheered after taking another bite. "Nobody's first mission is ever a success! I guess that's what you get for training with Team Remorse, huh?"
"So, what about you?" Saura asked. "How'd your day go?"
"Oh, we failed our mission," Ray said.
"Oh…" Saura said, tilting his head. "It… wasn't too bad, was it? You didn't get in trouble?"
"Nah," Taka said. "It wasn't an important mission. Team Bladewing dropped something in Blackriver City on the way to their destination yesterday. It was a gold band that they were going to sell. We were assigned to go find it."
"We couldn't do it, though," Ray said. "Blackriver City is a brutal place. We got attacked by ghosts, and they forced us to bail out…"
"Nobody expects a training team to accomplish their missions," Taka explained. "That's why they give us pointless missions, so it won't hurt anyone if we screw it up. But when we learn to start accomplishing the missions, we can get accepted into a real team. That's how things work around here."
"For me, it's always been my dream to join Team Remorse," Ray said with a smile. "My older brother was on that team for years before he retired, and I want to take his place. It'd be an honor to serve under the legendary Scythe!"
"Ray's got a long ways to go, though," Taka groaned. "But he's sure got the enthusiasm for it. Me, I don't care where I go, just as long as I'm good enough to do my job, you know?"
Char and Saura glanced at each other, sharing an expression of awkwardness.
"So… uh… how far are you at memorizing that poem?" Char asked nonchalantly.
"Oh, I finished it," Ray said. "I had it down since the second day I was here. You kinda have to, you know? Otherwise they won't let you back into the base! Why, did you not get a chance to memorize it yet?"
"Uh… yeah, we uh, we're finishing it today!" Char rambled, getting a sudden and surprise glance from Saura. "We've just been busy these first few days."
"Uh… okay," the Raichu said with a wink. "If you say so."
Very suddenly, Char felt extremely uncomfortable. The blaring noise from the active cafeteria, the constant sounds of plates scraping against tables, and especially the non-stop sounds of the Raichu's voice, all suddenly culminated into a mass of… unbearable irritation. He felt his stomach sink, like the fire within him had receded by half. Suddenly, he wanted to be alone, away from all the crowds and banter. He wanted to be somewhere quiet.
"Saura, let's go," Char said suddenly, climbing to his feet. "There's somewhere I want to go."
"Char…? Is everything okay?" Saura asked oddly as he jumped down from the table.
"Ray, Taka, nice to meet you both," Char said in a flat voice. "Saura, let's go."
… … …
Char felt a measure of peace sweep over him as he stepped once again into the huge yet deserted theater. The torches along the walls flared up in sequence as they entered, inviting him in with the warm glow of his element. He sighed. He really, really wanted this solitude all of a sudden, although he couldn't place why.
"Want to talk about something?" Saura asked, coming to Char's side as he took a seat on the top step.
"Not really…" Char said. "I just wanted to come here."
Char fixed his eyes, once again, on the incredibly-detailed statue of Dialga at the front of the room.
"You sure?" Saura said. "You don't feel bad lying about memorizing the poem, do you? Because I'm pretty sure Ray just thought you were joking."
"No, it's not that," Char said, not taking his eyes off Dialga's figure. "I guess… this place just suddenly made me feel uncomfortable. I had to get away. It's… it's about Scythe more than anyone else, I think. Since Scythe's training us, we're suddenly held up as these lucky people—Pokémon, sorry—and everyone's saying that we're training with the best warlord that ever lived or something. But we didn't pass today's test because we were good. We only did it because Scythe was there, and he did everything for us. But now, everyone thinks that we're... prodigies, or something. I don't want that. Especially since we're not even playing by the same rules as the rest of the… entire division."
"Maybe Scythe's just teaching us his own way," Saura offered, shrugging. "Maybe he knows what he's doing."
"Or maybe he's just treating us like this because he knows I'm a human!" Char returned. "Maybe he's just giving us extra protection because he's a Pokémon and I'm a human and he feels he needs to serve me. Just… like you, Saura. It's just… I don't want to be treated special if I don't deserve it. It makes me feel really bad. I don't want other people to have expectations of me that I can't live up to."
"To tell you the truth, I kind of feel the same way," Saura said in a genuine tone. "But I have faith in Scythe. I think he knows what he's doing."
But I can't help thinking that maybe Daemon was right, Char said to himself. Maybe learning for ourselves would be the better way to grow. But… I guess I have nothing to do but to put my faith in Scythe at the moment…
Char sat for a moment, enjoying the quietness of the large space lined with fiery torches. It made him feel a little better knowing he was safe and sound inside of this beautiful room. He watched Dialga's stone skin rippling with light from the flames, and he tried to imagine that the great beast stood before him in the same room, ready to tell him that which it had soundlessly spoken in his dreams.
"What do you see?" Saura asked, changing his tone. "Is it bringing back any of your memories?"
Char told Saura about the dream he had during his poison-induced coma as best as he could, describing how he felt that there was something else—something indescribably important—that these dreams were still failing to reveal.
"No wonder," Saura said. "Right before you woke up, you said Dialga's name. I should have known you were having another dream."
"That's the thing, though," Char said. "I don't think they're dreams at all. I think I really am slowly remembering things that happened to me before I transformed… I just wish I could remember more."
The more Char stared at the statue, the more he tried to visualize it acting out its behavior in his memory. But no matter how hard he tried, the memory wouldn't return the same way it had. It seemed like it was teetering on the brink, but never fell into place.
… … …
After spending a good deal of time sitting in the peacefulness of the theater, but failing to induce another memory, Char pulled himself away and decided to head to the little white room where the poem was posted. There, they both rubbed their heads as they glanced upon the two stanzas they should have remembered from yesterday, and the two stanzas after that.
"Do you… remember any of it?" Saura asked.
"Uh… Something about peace that our fathers had before," Char said doubtfully. "Really… I still don't see how I'm supposed to do this if I can't even read…"
After spending a grueling length of time going over what they had forgotten of the first two stanzas, they tried painfully to pave more room for the next.
"Ho, oh, miracle, Lessons learned and lives retold," Saura recited.
"Ho, oh, tales of old, it's how we live by what we know," Char answered.
"Good, good," Saura said. "Now, let's see if we can get the next one without pushing that one out of our heads."
… … …
Eventually, when they learned everything Scythe required of them for the day, they eagerly leapt out of the room and back down the corridors. Since there was still a bit of time left in the day, they discussed other places in the base to visit. Saura suggested stepping into the dojo to see if it was available.
"I'm a bit tired still," Char had replied, "but I don't see why not…"
As Char and Saura entered Domo's Dojo, a Scyther who looked suspiciously like Scythe buzzed around the center of the room, attacking a giant rock which sat in the middle of the main platform. His movements were awkward and clumsy, though, and he didn't move with the same blinding speed which Scythe had used before.
"Oh, you two," the Scyther said to them (with Scythe's very voice), letting himself get distracted from his makeshift opponent. "Right, you remembered me telling you to come in today. Very good. If you're not busy, we can have a lesson."
Before Char could say "yes," Domo lunged at him, causing him to panic and jump backwards. In doing so, though, he tripped and fell, hitting his head against the rock platform.
"Scared you, didn't I?" the false Scythe sneered. "One thing you must learn… I will teach you… is not to panic when faced with an opponent. Never panic. Yes, it is a survival instinct built into your mind, but the instinct is wrong! It can be overcome, so that you will never lose your good reasoning during battle."
"But first, you have to teach us how to fight," Saura interrupted. "Confidence only comes from knowing you have the skill to do something."
"Wrong!" the Scyther yelled. "If you panic, you will never acquire skill in the first place! It all starts with the ability to turn off your lower-level instincts when they are not needed, and see things only from an objective point of view. A vital skill to learn! Now… show me what you know about battle!"
With a shift of his form, the Scyther became a Kabutops. When the transformation was over, it reared back, ready to lash forward with its spiked limbs.
"Get ready for me!" it squealed in its distorted voice. "Now…"
"Wait! Please!" Char pleaded. "I'm… not ready."
"Why?" the Kabutops demanded. "What's the matter?"
"I have a question," Char said weakly. "I was wondering if you could answer it, being the combat trainer and all."
"Oh…" Domo said, dropping his hostile pose. "Well, what do you need?"
"Something's been bothering me," Char told Domo. "Today, when we fought another Pokémon on the mission, I… couldn't use my fire breath. I tried to use it, but it didn't come out. I was wondering if… you know… you knew anything about how it works."
"Well… let's see if I can remember," Domo said, shifting forms once again. In only a few short moments, Domo had shrunk down in size to exactly Char's height. In fact, he had become Char.
Is that really what I look like? Char wondered, staring oddly at the real-life reflection of himself. I look… weird!
"Ah, to be a fire-type," Domo spoke with Char's voice, adding to the strange scene. "I've been spending a deal of time in your form, and the fire-nature is starting to return to my memory. Now… you said you lost your inner fire, did you?"
"Yeah," Char answered. "It wouldn't come out."
"Well, let me tell you how it all works," Domo said. "All fire-aligned Pokémon have a flame which constantly burns inside of your body. It is called your Ember. Your Ember is your very life force; it's what sustains you and animates you. In essence, you are a living tongue of fire encased in a catalyst of flesh. That fire is your spirit; if it were to ever go out, it would mean that your life is over, regardless of what condition your body is in. Now, while all fire-type Pokémon have this Ember burning inside, it will… express itself in different ways, depending on the species. For some fire-Pokémon, such as Ponyta, Infernape, or indeed, Charmander, the flame remains exposed to the air through a natural ventilation system of sorts - hence, the flame on your tail. For other fire-types, like Vulpix, the flame is harbored within, and will only be expelled when the Pokémon intends to use it, for instance, to defend itself."
So it is a defensive mechanism after all, Char realized. There must be some way to control it, then…
"Now, even though your tail flame will burn for as long as you live, you must always keep it protected from things like the cold or the water," Domo continued. "Not only does it hurt immensely for undesirable elements to come in contact with your flame, but you could become seriously injured, indeed, even to the point of death."
Yeah, I found out the hard way how that works, Char thought.
"As a fire Pokémon with an open flame, its appearance can be useful in judging your health," the Ditto explained. "The flame you see on your tail will always be a reflection of the state of your inner Ember. Sometimes the flame will flicker and weaken, letting you know that something is amiss within your body. However, the opposite is also true. Sometimes, when you are healthy and overflowing with vitality, or if your spirit is touched in the right way, your Ember will swell, sometimes to the point of overflowing. In those times, you can use it as a weapon against enemies by expelling it from your throat."
"How do I get it to swell?" Char wondered. "That's the thing. I tried to make it do that, but it didn't work!"
"It's mostly an instinctual response," Domo explained. "It will often be your body's reaction to when you are… worried, desperate, or otherwise offended."
Offended? Char repeated silently.
"That makes sense," Saura chimed in. "Remember? I remember when we were fighting that other Bulbasaur. You didn't really want to join in and fight in the first place."
"I was afraid to," Char said. "I was… shy."
"Right! If you were being cowardly, of course your Ember wouldn't have risen to your aid," Domo explained. "Now, with enough training, you can learn to trigger your Ember whenever you want. It will get easier when you become a Charmeleon and a Charizard, but you can learn it at your age, too. A good way I found to do it is to pretend my pride is being threatened. Think to yourself: 'You can't tell me what to do! I don't deserve this! This shouldn't be happening to me! I deserve more than this!' and so on, and so on. And you have to mean it, too. If you do it right, you should feel your fire swelling. Try it."
Char took a deep breath. Focusing on his inner fire, he—
Whack!
"Hey! Ow!" Char cried, recovering from the blow to the head which the other Charmander had delivered. "That hurt!"
Pow!
Next came a clenched fist to Char's belly, knocking the wind right out of him. He fell back onto the floor but quickly scrambled up. The other Charmander quickly approached him.
"Ugh!" Char grunted.
"Yes, yes, feel that?" Domo replied. "Now you're being offended. Don't forgive me! Demand respect from me! Demand repayment for the harm I have caused! Who is the better Charmander, huh? Me or you? It's your decision!"
Char scowled at his doppelganger. He knew what he had to do, now. He had to hate him. He had to loathe him. He had to feel the same hatred that he once felt for Scythe, and also for Eva, and for the Spearow that attacked Saura. But… could he bring himself to hate his trainer? It didn't seem to be working. He knew he had to think of something before he collected more bumps and bruises...
No, he realized. He could not hate those who were his friends. He could not turn his fire on them. But… there was one thing that he could learn to hate…
The Master, Char said to himself. The Master. I hate… the Master. The same way Saura hates the Master. The same way Scythe hates the Master. The same way all the other Pokémon in this place hate the Master. He who tears families apart… He who kills and steals without remorse… he is the one whom I hate!
Char felt invigorated; his tail flame had instantaneously grown to twice its normal size. The flames roiled in his belly, ready to be spewed outward at his command.
"Good!" Domo shouted. "I see you've gotten the hang of it. Now, since you understand how it works, it's only a matter of practice. Use your fire to defeat your enemies in battle, and—"
My fire burns… Char said to himself, not listening to Domo. Wait! That's IT! That's PERFECT! My fire burns… to destroy the Master!
*FWOOM!*
A decently-sized fireball rose from Char's chest, blasting out from his mouth and striking the doppelganger in the middle of his speech. Domo fell onto his back onto the stony floor below.
"Nicely done!" he cried, leaping back to his feet. "See? You experience elation! Your fire rises to your aid! Can you do it again?"
*FWOOM!*
Char coughed out another plume of fire, and this time the Ditto leaped out of the way to avoid the attack.
"You learn!" the other Charmander said. "This is the key! This is the first step in learning how to use your fire in battle. You have learned well!"
Char felt the pleasant, searing heat in his chest. He glanced at his tail, watching how the flame doubled in size. He smiled.
My fire is there, he realized. It has always been there. All I really needed… was a reason to fight.
And maybe… I don't have to be a coward anymore.
For the first time since his transformation, Char felt the faint twinkle of an emotion he had forgotten how to feel. He felt a flicker of real, true happiness.
"Thanks," Char muttered, bowing to Domo and raising his hands to show that he no longer wanted to battle. "I think I understand. I know how to control the fire."
"Trust me, you have not yet begun to learn!" Domo proclaimed, shifting back into the form of Mew. "You have learned the most basic kind of attack your fire is capable of: a simple discharge of your fire from within to without. This basic attack is known by Pokémon as the "Ember attack". But there remain dozens, perhaps hundreds more ways for you to learn to utilize your fire. But, perhaps, those can be lessons for another day."
"I understand," Char said, bowing again. "Thank you."
"Thank you for the opportunity to train you," Domo replied. "It is an honor. I have forgotten what it was like to be a Charmander, or a Charizard. You have given me the opportunity to remember what a strong, passionate nature they have."
Smiling in glee, Char stepped off of the stone platform and returned to Saura. His tail burned brightly as his thoughts kept running in circles, proclaiming "I have my fire! I have my fire!"
"And you, little Bulbasaur!" Domo called out. "Surely, you have not come to me in vain! Come, approach me! It is now your turn."
"Um… okay," Saura said, turning to Domo. "Uh… well, since I'm here, I have a question for you, too. Earlier, I fought a Bulbasaur, but he attacked me in a way I didn't recognize…"
"A new attack?" Domo said, already in Saura's form. "Describe it to me."
… … …
Although Char and Saura both wanted to do something else before retiring to their rooms for the night, they couldn't think of anything to do after the lessons from Domo. All the while, Saura was too busy singing to Char about the new attack the Ditto taught him, called "bullet seeds". Char was just thankful that it distracted Saura enough not to remember his team name, or anything else that might dash his good mood.
Eventually, it came time to return to Team Remorse. Satisfied at their accomplishments of the day, Char and Saura hiked back upstairs and walked down the tunnel which lead to the elite team's rooms…
"Well, I guess that's a wrap for our first day," Saura laughed as they headed back down the tunnel. "Not only did we accomplish our first mission, but we learned some new skills, and we made some new friends! Team Peanuts is on the road to victory!"
There he goes again, Char noticed. And… what? Don't tell me… he doesn't seem to mind the name anymore…?
"And tomorrow, we'll wake up and do it all over again," Saura sighed. "This really is kind of exciting, anyway. The more victories we get, the more well-known our team name will be, and the more famous we'll become! The Master's forces will cower before our… um… famousness!"
Char bit his tongue.
"Hey, Char, I've got an idea," Saura said, leaping around. "What if we had some sort of motto? Maybe our motto could be something we say every time we meet the bad guys! Imagine. The bad guys are there, thinking they're getting away with it. Then suddenly, we leap out of nowhere, and they know they're in trouble when they hear the words…"
Saura jumped ahead of Char and turned around, facing him like an enemy and smiling evilly.
"…To protect Ambera from devastation! To destroy the Master's domination! To denounce alliance with evil's hand! To resist all those who plague our land! Team Peanuts is here to stand for what's right! We'll never go down without a fight! Ha-HA!"
Hey, that's not half bad, thought Char as Saura leapt again and performed a little pose. Char cracked a smile.
But just as Char's grin covered his face, Saura's suddenly disappeared.
"Oh, Char. It's just no use!" Saura moaned in a sudden bout of anguish, surprising Char and dropping to the floor in hopelessness. "I've tried so hard to get used to our team name. But… I can't! I just can't, Char. I don't care if everyone else likes the name. I hate it! I… I don't want to be a peanut. I don't want to be something weak and silly and stupid! Why'd we have to get stuck with such an awful name? I'm sorry, Char. I shouldn't be acting like this. But every time I hear the name, it just sucks all the energy right out of me…"
Char stepped forward and gave him a big hug.
"I know, I know," Saura sniffed, almost ready to cry. "We knew from the beginning this wouldn't be easy. I shouldn't be whining like this. I really shouldn't."
Char smiled.
"Saura," he said gently. "I was wondering something."
"What is it?" Saura grumbled, casting a questioning glance up at his friend.
"Would you like to change our team's name?"
Saura held his breath. His eyes widened.
"You can do that?" Saura cried. "I didn't know that!"
"Neither did I, until I asked Scythe earlier today," Char explained. "He told me that it's easy. You just go down to registration and request a name change for your team. We might even be able to do it before the office closes tonight. You have to write down the new name on paper, though, so you may have to help me with those footprint-things everyone writes with. And you can only get one name change per year, or something…"
"Char, I'd love to…" Saura sighed. "But… do you have anything in mind? Anything better than Team Peanuts, at least?"
"Oh… I might have something in mind," Char replied, staring thoughtfully into the distance.
… … …
Later that night, a Pidgeotto swooped down into the hallway. Casting a glance of acknowledgement toward the Charmander and Bulbasaur who stood nearby, the Pidgeotto set itself down on the hallway floor. It emptied its talons of some rolled-up sheets of paper. Taking one in its beak, it applied it to a nearby bulletin board with a few pecks.
"Interesting news today," the Pidgeotto commented. It quickly gathered up the rest of the papers in its talons, rolling them into neat little scrolls, then took off again.
"Take care," it called as it flew away, leaving a feather or two behind.
Saura approached the large posting on the board, completely covered in blocks and blocks of footprint runes, all of varying sizes.
"Hmm…" Saura said. "It says… Team Absolution finished a week-long campaign in the mountains. And Team Remorse is still fighting at Basin Canyon. Hmm… They said it would be here…"
Saura grinned in eager anticipation, finding the passage of text he had been looking for. Char held his breath, savoring the look on his friend's face.
"Furthermore, Team Peanuts… by the request of the team's leader, is hereby to be known as… Team Ember…"
Wow, we really are in the news, Char realized, feeling the fire in his belly tingle with glee. Everyone in the rest of the Gold Division is going to read this tomorrow morning…
"Despite the overwhelmingly positive feedback from their previous name, the newly-founded team has requested this change for personal reasons," Saura continued. "While it is not nearly as unique as Peanuts, we here at the registry unanimously agree that the new name is…meaningful and well-chosen. Good luck to you, Team Ember, and to all of our newly-joined members!"
Saura glanced back at his friend.
"Well, it's official," he said. "We're Team Ember now…"
"What do you think?" Char asked. "Do you like it? Do you have any regrets? I felt a little guilty for naming the team after fire, you know… But I thought it was just a good name that meant something. Something we can both be proud of."
"Char… I… really don't know what to say," Saura gasped, nudging Char's leg as he looked back at the news post. "The name's perfect! Thank you so much! I… You have no idea. It really takes a load off my back not having to be ashamed of the name anymore… and not having to pretend to like it!"
At that, the two little Pokémon turned to head for the door of Team Remorse, ready to sleep and begin the day anew with high hearts.